Hey guys this is going to end up being a couple of chapters long. I've seen some people do this and I was intrigued so now I want to put my spin on it. I hope you enjoy it.
Jason Pov
The battle raged all around me. I got a feeling of dread, the battle wasn't going well. The monsters were easily wiping out our forces and I feared no army could make a difference. The campers from both camps were doing their best to help but it just wasn't enough. Ever since Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus everything had went sideways.
Everyone on the Argo II fought constantly and I knew in secret we all blamed ourselves. We wanted to be the one who saved them not the other. Deep down we had known we should work together to save them but we all put it on ourselves to do it. I had nightmares every night of the possible dangers they faced in there so it put me in a bad mood on the ship. Overall it was a bad experience all around. Though I'm sure Percy and Annabeth would switch with us any day.
I stared longingly at the Doors of Death hoping against hope to see them walking out in each other's arms. I had to believe that their reappearance would be the spark we needed to wipe out the giants. I would never admit this out loud but, Percy made me more confident. Percy always managed to keep a cool head and find a way out and secretly I wished I could be like that. I knew on the inside he was freaking out, but he managed to hide it on the outside.
A loud horn boomed through the valley we were fighting in. Everyone stopped their fighting to watch as the gods arrived to help us. I felt the air cackled with energy, I don't think the Olympians had ever gathered all together some place out of Olympus. I saw my dad, Zeus leading them and I got a lump in my throat. Did he expect me to lead the demigods the way he led the gods? Would he see me as a failure for being afraid to lead them?
The monsters began to nervously back away knowing their demise was near. The giants however all smiled evilly at their opposite. They looked like they had finally gotten what they had been waiting for. The tension in the valley was so tense you could drop a pen and hear it.
After the gods arrived everything was a blur, I fought like I had never fought before. I slashed monsters to dust left and right yet it still wasn't enough. The gods attacked the giants holding them at bay. They couldn't kill them on their own so they were waiting for one of the demigods to help them.
I could feel the fear in the valley rising, the monsters were over running us. I panted from exhaustion, we had been fighting forever. No matter how many monsters we sliced down more seemed to take their place. The gods were even slowing down.
"Enough!" Zeus roared bringing out his master bolt. I don't know what exactly was going through his head but he threw the bolt. It landed in the middle of Gaea's minions wiping all them out but it also had a blast radius so big it blew all the demigods and monsters alike hundreds of feet away.
I staggered to my feet feeling like I had just been run over by a truck to see a giant crater in the middle of what used to be our battle ground. I didn't know whether to be angry or scared for what my father had just done.
I felt a sudden change in the air, not a literal one but a mental one. I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I looked over to the Doors of Death and my heart leaped into my throat. I saw Percy carrying an unconscious Annabeth in his arms. She was wearing Percy's shirt so he was shirtless. I could see the new and fresh scars that Tartarus had given him and I felt terrible grief wash over me.
I could hear the rest of the seven cheer and rush over towards us. I broke into a huge grin myself and rushed towards them. Percy didn't look happy to see me, he looked shattered and determined. I saw tears in his eyes and I couldn't help but think something had happened to Annabeth.
Before I got to Percy to help him carry Annabeth, he threw her at me. I caught her but wasn't expecting it so I stumbled back onto the ground. I was shocked, why would Percy just throw Annabeth like a toy? I was so confused I forgot to look what Percy was doing for a second and what I saw made me gasp in fear.
Percy was in a dead sprint back to the Doors of Death. Something Leo had said one night rang in my head 'a door works two ways, someone's going to have to stay behind and close the one in Tartarus.' Percy without any hesitation was going to be the one to stay behind. He was sacrificing himself for the rest of us.
The world seemed to stop spinning for a second and I almost broke down in tears. All my life I had been forced into the lime light as a leader because my dad was Jupiter/Zeus; but Percy was sort of put in the same situation but he never complained and he always put others before himself. All the great things I thought I had accomplished in my life were nothing compared to that of Percy. 'He is the strongest demigod I know,' Nico had said that one night and all I felt was that I hadn't been given a fair chance. Now, I knew that power had nothing to do with being the strongest, a kind heart and the willingness and selflessness to do anything to protect your loved ones is what made you strong; and Percy was the definition of strong.
Annabeth began to stir in my arms and I continued to watch Percy. He had arrived at the doors and he slowed down and turned. I could see him taking in everything around him one last time. The others had joined me now and I could tell they were as shell shocked as I am. I could hear a few of them crying.
Annabeth looked around, "Where's Percy?"
I didn't dare say anything and neither did anyone else. But we didn't have to. She finally spotted him and she tensed. I felt her struggled against my hold, but I felt it was the right thing to do not to let her go.
"Percy, no!"She screamed, I could feel tears falling to my hands.
Percy turned completely around one last time and looked back at our group. Somehow I could feel his eyes were looking directly at Annabeth, who began to cry even harder. He gave us one of his famous smiles that pegged him as a trouble maker. He gave us a thumbs up and walked back into Tartarus.
We could see the doors closing and standing in the small slit was Percy. I could see he was smiling perhaps trying one last time to console us that he was okay with this. The doors shut, closing off Percy from the rest of us, for good.
Annabeth collapsed on the ground in front of me and sobbed, heart wrenching cries into the dessert floor. I felt like joining her but for some reason I felt broken. Percy had sacrificed himself for us, which included me, a kid he had known for maybe a week. Percy always tried protecting others but here he had just protected the whole world full of people he didn't know. Finally I felt tears fall, not out of sadness, no Percy wouldn't want that, they fell out of respect and awe for one of the most powerful and kindhearted people I had ever met. The remaining seven of the prophecy just stood there crying for their lost leader.
I heard a great yell behind me, it sounded like someone had just found out their son had died. It didn't take too long to figure out who it was. Lord Poseidon was down on his knees screaming in pain, there wasn't anything physically wrong with him but deep down we all knew he was crying for Percy. When he rose from his feet he was cackling with electricity and he had a deadly expression written on his face.
That's when the earthquake started, it made all the giants and demigods fall. I knew they were feeling this all around the world and I felt bad for all of them. The earth began to crack apart as Poseidon's rage continued to grow. The demigods regained their feet and began to attack the fallen giants along with the other gods. Before long the remaining giants were defeated. We had won the war! Yet the victory felt hollow without the son of Poseidon here to share in its wonder with us.
Poseidon fell to the ground and began to cry again, and the earth still trembled in his grief. Annabeth lay on the ground in front of me mumbling to herself 'why'. I looked around at the others of our group and saw Leo had tears streaming down his face while Piper was crying on Hazels shoulder. Hazel was wiping away her tears while Frank stared in the direction of the doors in shock. The campers were busy cheering not yet aware of what the victory had cost them.
Several hours later on our flight back on the Argo II we all sat somberly around the table. We didn't know what to say, we all felt empty without the seventh member of the quest sitting with us chowing down on food. If he was here right now he would find some witty comment to try and ease the mood. Unfortunately we would never again hear his dumb comments and that made me even sadder.
"I should of seen it coming," Annabeth whispered to herself. She looked terrible and given the circumstances I couldn't blame her. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were shattered and red from crying. She had cuts all over her face and she still wore Percy's shirt from Tartarus.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked her drying her eyes and patting Annabeth reassuringly on the back.
Annabeth shook her head, "As we neared the doors he told me he would be waiting for me. At the time I had no idea what he was talking about." Realization dawned on us, Percy had known he was going through with this for awhile and tried to tell her to be ready f or it. She started tearing up again.
"How did you get knocked out at the end? I mean if you were awake for him to tell you he'd be waiting then what happened?" I asked, remembering Percy carrying her.
She cracked a small smile, "He stopped me right before we were about to leave the doors and kissed me. This wasn't just a regular kiss, it felt like it had something behind it, almost like he was trying to tell me goodbye. After the kiss he told me he'd be waiting again and I just stared at him blankly and he just smiled making me forget about it. For some strange reason he wanted me to go first and well I did. So as I was walking Percy hit me in the back of my head knocking me out."
I stared at her in shock, I had never known Percy to be violent towards Annabeth why did he do it? I looked around and everyone had the same look as me. Annabeth just let the tears fall and I felt bad for her having to relive this so soon.
"Percy hit you?" Hazel asked in a choked voice.
Annabeth managed another small smile, "Yeah, a few years ago Percy had me teach him this move where you hit a specific spot on someone's neck and you knock them out." She began to shake her head still with a small smile, "Who would have thought he would use it on me to sacrifice himself."
We all sat around in stunned silence again. Percy had seemed to think of everything for what he was going to do. I just hoped that we could somehow get past this difficult time in our lives. All I knew for certain? We would never forget the great hero that was Percy Jackson.
Alright guys hope you enjoyed it! Now I hate to do this but since I hardly get any reviews on this you'll have to wait for two reviews for the next chapter. Don't forget to suggest other ideas for this story after I get done with these chapters.
