POV: Annabeth
All fighting had stopped long ago. Her friends had gotten her aboard the Argo II and were now asleep in their own cabins. But all Annabeth could do was sit, numb in Percy's cabin.
She couldn't leave. Wouldn't leave.
The scent of his clothes and belongings seemed to be the only source of comfort for her.
Eventually she settled into a sort of numb focus. She never smiled anymore, purely focused on defeating Gaea.
And once that was done, once every monster was defeated, she felt no better.
Now she was back at camp, two years later, and she still had not gotten over him.
She no longer seemed numb, the façade she put up seemed to trick everybody besides her closest friends, and she was fine with that.
Every night she cried herself to sleep and was tortured of dreams and nightmares of their time together in Tartarus.
There, the only thing that had kept her going was the knowledge that they would make it out, together.
But that never happened. Percy had always planned on that never happening and some small part of her resented him for that.
Her friends tried to make her move on, tried to set her up with other guys. But it didn't work.
Nobody was the same as her Seaweed Brain. Nobody could possibly even begin to replace him.
It might have helped her to move on if she knew he was dead. But he wasn't. Both Hades and Nico confirmed that his soul had not yet crossed into the Underworld.
That small piece of information gave her hope. Gave her hope that maybe he was still out there, just waiting for rescue.
And so the search began. Everybody in the camp in some way or another participated. Even the gods.
But nobody could find him. Even Artemis.
Every year they had a meeting to discuss any new leads that they might have to his whereabouts. But it always ended the same.
Hades and Nico confirming he wasn't dead. Artemis saying that she had no new leads on his whereabouts. And Nico always suggesting the same thing.
"He is still in Tartarus. He is still alive".
And yet nobody wanted to go look for him. None of the gods or demigods ever volunteered to go down to Tartarus.
Naturally Annabeth would in a heartbeat, but Chiron and all the gods forbade it.
She had still not yet gotten over her PTSD from her first trip to Tartarus, and Dionysus said that another trip might tip her over the edge and into madness.
So she waited. Waited for some sort of miracle that would bring him back to her.
Even after everybody else had given up hope.
Even after everything that they had been through. She couldn't give up hope.
Because if she did it would feel like half of her had died.
POV: Percy
When he woke up he was surprised to find that he was laying on a bed. With sheets.
It was cold, blissfully cold. And the smell of burning flesh no longer surrounded him. Replaced by the comforting scent of lemons and lavender.
When he tried to open his eyes he was almost blinded by the brightness of the room. It was white, and sterile, and reminded him of a hospital room.
He became aware of the bandages wrapped around his back, and the stinging feeling of ointment on his wounds.
When he tried to move he hissed in pain and collapsed back down onto the mattress.
"I wouldn't try to move if I were you".
A calming feminine voice spoke from the corner of the room.
He opened his eyes again and turned his head to see the same being that rescued him sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
He supposed she had chosen to take a female form, because she now looked and sounded like a woman.
"You were severely injured. It took quite a bit of power to heal you. You've been asleep for about a week now. I was starting to fear that you would never wake up".
She got up from the chair and walked over to his bedside.
"Thank you for saving me, but... Um... Who exactly are you?".
At first he thought that she would smite him right then and there and be done with him. But instead she laughed.
It was a beautiful sound which was strangely melodious. It made him instantly feel better.
"Pardon me. I sometimes forget that you mortals are not aware of my existence. I am Chaos, creator of the universe".
Percy's eyes widened and suddenly it all came back to him. The torture, his rescue, the comforting cold wind that told him that everything would be okay. But most of all, he remembered his old life.
Tears rolled down his face and he grabbed his head in an effort to protect against the onslaught of memories that assaulted his mind.
A sob racked his body as one person in particular kept appearing again and again.
Annabeth.
His mind seemed to whisper her name like a chant.
Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth.
He looked up in despair and found Chaos sitting next to him, gently rubbing the small of his back.
"It's okay. Remember your old life. It's what made you who you are. But you need to let it all go".
She whispered comforting words at him until he was able to calm himself down.
She leaned back in her chair and gave him space, studying him like he was an interesting piece of artwork.
Slowly, and with a painful groan, he pushed himself so that he was sitting up against the headboard.
She tried to help him, but he waved her off.
When he was settled, she spoke again.
"Didn't that hurt?"
"Of course. But I can handle pain. What I can't handle is not knowing. So tell me, why am I here?".
She chuckled lightly at his words and told him.
"I was right about you. You are just the person I need. All right, I will tell you".
"Of all the beautiful worlds that I have created in this universe, Earth has always been my favourite. It was magnificent, and I loved it. What I don't love, is what it has turned into. There is so much evil on my beautiful Earth. And there is nothing I can do about it. Ancient laws forbid me from going down there and fixing it myself. So, I have decided to find a loophole. And that loophole, is you".
After she finished she looked at Percy expectantly as he thought over what she had said. Finally, it sunk in.
"Wait. You want me to go down to Earth and get rid of all of the evil there?".
It sounded ridiculous. But what she said next was even more ridiculous.
"Exactly. You and one other lost soul of my choice will become my heroes. You will represent me on Earth and counteract the evil that has corrupted my favourite planet".
She said this all with a smile, and suddenly, he found himself smiling too.
"I accept".
To be honest, Percy had always loved fighting monsters. As much as he had wanted to have a peaceful life with Annabeth, he knew that he would soon grow bored and tired without anything to fight.
"Good. When you begin to feel better we will begin to train. We have much work to do if you are going to be my hero by next year".
"Next year?".
He couldn't need that much training could he?
"Yes. Next year. You are a remarkable hero, but you still have much to improve upon if you are to be my representative. Now rest up. Training will start when you become able to get up and walk to my throne room without assistance".
With that said, she left. Leaving Percy to do something he hadn't done in a long time. Smile.