AN: Hey guys, here's chapter 2, thanks to the people who reviewed, but don't expect updates to always be this fast, I just had this one partially done and decided to just finish it, enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan, I only own the plot
Third Person POV
"What happened to them," asked Chiron, eyeing the two unconscious demigods in front of him.
"We don't know, they were just going to lunch when they collapsed and started convulsing," stated Will. "Nothing seems medically or magically wrong with them either."
"How is that possible?" asked Chiron. Will could only shrug his shoulders.
"I will contact the gods, perhaps your father could figure out what is ailing them, said Chiron, leaving the room.
Mount Olympus, Council Room
"Why did you call this meeting, Father?" asked Athena inquisitively.
"Well it seems the Hero and Architect of Olympus have both fallen into comas," replied Zeus simply.
"What?!" shouted Poseidon and Athena in tandem. Poseidon gave Athena a harsh glare.
"What has that brain spawn of yours gotten my son into this time?!" he accused.
"As if, it must have been some kelp brained scheme from your offspring that caused this," Athena sneered back.
"Order!" yelled Zeus, throwing his Master Bolt. "Neither were at fault they both seemingly collapsed randomly and according to Apollo's progeny they are both magically and medically healthy, from what they can tell."
"Figures your children would be about as useful as you are," muttered Artemis.
"Apollo, go to Camp Half-Blood and see if you can figure out what is causing this,"declared Zeus. "Apollo? Apollo? Apollo!" Apollo was blissfully unaware of what was happening as he was tapping his foot to the music he was listening to.
Zeus began rubbing his temples. "Can someone get his atten-,"
Zeus was cut off by a silver arrow, a trident, and a spear all embedding themselves in Apollo's throne causing his headphones o fall out and a girlish squeal to emanate from his throat.
"Yes?" Apollo squeaked.
"Go to Camp Half-Blood and heal my son!" roared Poseidon.
"Yes, sir!" said Apollo, giving a salute as he flashed out.
"Now that is taken care of, do you think this may be some kind of attack on Olympus in order to weaken us, seeing as Perseus played a major role in the last war?" asked Zeus.
Ares scoffed. "Just because that punk comes down with a cold doesn't mean that Olympus is about to be attacked," he said dismissively.
"Ares, you sound like a moron, be quiet and let the adults talk before I put you on a time out in Tartarus," said Poseidon threateningly. Ares shrank into his throne, knowing first hand how dangerous the sea god could be.
"Athena, what do you think?" prompted Zeus.
"I think," Athena paused to ponder for a moment. "that we should hold off on such discussion until we hear back from Apollo, until we have some information anything we said would just be speculation anyways."
Zeus nodded. "Meeting dismissed."
Athena POV
"Aphrodite, wait!" I called, to which I received some odd stares, but ignored until everyone else left.
"What do you want?" asked Aphrodite, avoiding my eyes.
"You know something," I stated with narrowed eyes."you looked saddened when you first showed up and after Father told us what the meeting was about you were checking your nails constantly, which I know is one of your nervous tells."
"I don't know what you're talking about I just got my nails done so I like to admire them," Aphrodite objected.
"Just know that if you had a part in harming my favorite daughter you will taste my spear, dear sister," I spat before flashing away, not believing a word but knowing I have no solid proof.
Camp Half-Blood, Big House
Apollo POV
When I awesomely flashed in front of the Big House wondering what had everyone so riled up, I accidentally startled Chiron who was pacing back and forth on the porch.
"Wha- Lord Apollo," stuttered Chiron, bowing. "have you come to check on Percy and Annebeth?"
"I'm not really sure," I said scratching my head. "something's wrong with Perce?"
"Yes, Lord Apollo, both him and Annebeth are in a coma," replied Chiron looking confused.
'That must be why everyone was so agitated,' I thought. "Well go ahead and take me to him so I can see what the problem is."
"Of course, right this way," responded Chiron.
As I walked into the 'medical bay' of the Big House I saw both the young heroes unconscious on cots across from each other. I walked over to Percy's bedside and put a hand on his forehead and sent a pulse of golden energy that radiated outward from my palm until it reached his extremities and rebounded back towards their origin and was frowned at my findings. Like my children had found there was nothing wrong physically or magically. Spiritually, however, it looked as if someone had taken a chainsaw right down the middle of his soul. I figured Annebeth was in a similar condition, but repeated the process to be sure and was soon proven correct.
Chiron noticed my change in facial expression and look of concern over took his as well. "Do you know what is wrong with them?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, but not the cause or the remedy, I'm afraid," I responded shaking my head.
"What? But you are the god of-,"
"Healing and medicine, I should know, but what ails them is a disease like no other, love," I interjected.
"Love?" asked Chiron. "Love isn't a disease."
"Yes it is, more people have been killed and harmed by love than anything else, but in this case it is a truly literal malady." I responded. "I assume you know the story of soul mates?"
"Of course, after Prometheus created man, Zeus, who feared their power and was jealous of their contentment, split their souls and bodies into two parts, so they would forever search for their other half, which incidentally gave man their need to know and expand, always looking for something to fill the missing part of their soul." Chiron recited.
"Exactly, and while it is extremely rare for a person to find their soul mate, it does sometimes happen, and such is the case of Perseus and Annebeth here," I said gesturing to the two demigods.
"They're soul mates?" asked Chiron mouth agape. "that's amazing, but what does that have to do with their current predicament?"
"The problem is what happens to someone when they lose their soul mate," I responded. "you see, after the two soul mates realize their feelings for one another their souls want to become one again and begin to fuse together more and more over time until they are so intertwined that one half cannot live without the other, a good example of this would be the story of Alcyone and Ceyx."
"Okay, but I still don't see what this has to do with their state, neither one has died so why are they both incapacitated?!" asked Chiron becoming frustrated.
"I was about to get to that, calm yourself, someone ripped away their love for each other and since their souls had already begun to fuse, they are slowly dying." I said shaking my head sadly.
"No, No, there has to be something you can do, they don't deserve this," said Chiron. "who would do such a thing?"
"I'm not sure, but I think I have an idea, keep watch on them and alert the council if there are any changes in their condition," I ordered.
"Of course, Lord Apollo," said Chiron, bowing.
"If she did this on purpose, she will pay," I thought as I flashed out to the council room.
I took a seat in my throne an then shot a beam of sunlight into the air to call a council meeting.
Third Person POV
"Did you heal my son?" Poseidon demanded the moment he flashed in.
"Unfortunately, I was unable to," Apollo responded, all normal cheerfulness gone from his face.
"And why not?" asked Poseidon with barely restrained anger.
After Apollo explained the situation, all the gods turned to look at Aphrodite who now had a trident and a spear pointed at her throat.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Athena hissed.
"Please, I had to I didn't have a choice," Aphrodite whimpered, cowering in her throne as tears began falling from her eyes.
"Yeah, well I guess my hand slipped," said Poseidon, readying to impale her.
"STOP!"
"Who dares-" began Poseidon as he whirled to see the Fates themselves standing at the far end of the council room.
"We do, little sea god," said the Fates as one. "We made her break their bond."
"But, why? What have they done to deserve this fate?" Asked Athena.
"We do not need to explain ourselves to you, but heed this do not harm the love goddess, you will need her in times to come," said the Fates ominously before fading away.
"Fuck!" screamed Poseidon, stabbing his trident into the floor.
"I will not harm you, but know you have made a grave enemy this day." he growled before flashing away.
"That ass stole my speech," muttered Athena.
"What he said!" she yelled then flashed away as well.
"You know you did something stupid when those two agree on something," said Zeus. "is there anyway to heal them that you know of Apollo?"
"No, this is an unprecedented occurrence," Apollo admitted.
"Well, I think it would be in our best interest if you could find a way to heal them, so I want you to try your hardest to find a way ," declared Zeus.
"I would have either way, those two are my favorite demigods, besides my kids of course," Apollo responded then turned to Hades. "If you would assist me it would be very helpful, since you know much more about souls than I."
"I owe that child much, so I will assist you to repay my debt," Hades affirmed.
"Good, does anyone else have business?" Zeus asked.
When no one responded he raised his Master Bolt.
"Meeting dismissed!" Zeus proclaimed, slamming his Master Bolt into the council room floor.
Camp Half-Blood, Big House (One week later...)
Chiron POV
"Chiron! Chiron, come quick!" I heard from the medical bay, and I ran towards the voice.
"What's happening, Will?" I asked coming through the door.
"They are starting to go into cardiac arrest, you must tell the gods if they have some way of healing them they must do it now, or we are going to lose them soon." Will stated in a state of panic.
"I will tell them right away, keep them alive until they get here" I ordered rushing out the door.
Mount Olympus, Council Room
Zeus sat in his throne thinking about what the Fates had said earlier wondering what they could mean and hoping it wasn't more enemies from the past, when an IM popped up in front of him.
"Lord Zeus, the childrens' condition has worsened and I have been told that unless Apollo has found a way to heal them, we will lose them soon." said Chiron, even forgetting to bow in his worry.
"I will call a meeting immediately." said Zeus, waving a hand through the image.
Once again, Zeus raised his Bolt and threw it into the floor to call the meeting to order, noticing that both Apollo and Hades were missing.
"Has there been a change in my son's condition?" asked Poseidon, worry clear in his voice.
"Yes, and not for the better I am afraid, Chiron has just told me that they have worsened considerably as of late," Zeus replied.
"Has Apollo made any headway in his research?" asked Athena with bloodshot eyes.
"That's what this meeting is for actually, Artemis go get your brother, Hermes go get Hades," Zeus told them.
"Right away, Father," replied Artemis, although she looked a bit annoyed as she left.
Hermes just flashed away with out a word, and was back within seconds with Hades.
"Why have you brought me here, I was in the middle of my research," Hades demanded.
Just then Artemis returned with Apollo, who looked furious.
"What is so important that you had to pull me away from finding a cure?!" Apollo snarled.
"We need to know if you have any kind of solution, they just took a turn for the worse and might not make it through the night," Zeus said solemnly.
Apollo looked taken aback, then shared a look with Hades, who nodded.
"We do have a solution, but you're not going to like it," Apollo stated.
"Just spit it out already!" yelled Athena.
"By taking their souls out of their body we can take a piece from one and fuse it to the other, and it should heal them," said Apollo hesitantly.
"Then what is the problem and why haven't we already done this?!" exclaimed Poseidon.
"Which ever one we take the piece of from, will most definitely die, possibly even fade," Hades responded. "and we were trying to find a way to save them both."
Silence reigned while Poseidon and Athena just glared at Aphrodite.
Zeus cleared his throat. "Then it seems we will have to vote on who lives, and who dies."
Poseidon looked conflicted, but then spoke up. "Before anyone votes, I would like you to know that if Percy were here he would ask you to vote for him to die."
Athena just stared at Poseidon with shock written all over your face.
Zeus looked at Poseidon and sighed. "All who vote for Annebeth to live."
Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Hera, Hermes, and Aphrodite raised their hands.
"All who vote for Perseus to live." said Zeus
Artemis, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hades, Zeus, and surprisingly Ares raised their hands, while Hestia abstained from voting.
"With that it is decided, Hades and Apollo go heal Perseus," Zeus directed.
"He'll never forgive us for this," Poseidon muttered.
Apollo just shook his head and flashed away with Hades. Poseidon gave Athena a sympathetic look and flashed out as well, the other gods following suit until it was just Athena and Artemis left.
"Why, Artemis?" asked Athena, tears in her eyes. "Why would you vote for a boy to live over a maiden?"
"I'm sorry, Athena, but that boy, as you put it, has done too much for us to deserve an end like that, and if you weren't so blinded by grief you would see that," responded Artemis, before flashing away also.
Camp Half-Blood, Big House
Apollo POV
When I arrived at the same spot I had one week earlier, I didn't feel awesome at all, I felt like a failure and knew I was about to condemn another soul to life I lived every day, no matter how much I lied to myself and everyone else. I turned to Hades, who was beside me.
"Are you ready?" I asked him.
"Yes, although I wish there was another way," said Hades, the slightest hint of sadness coloring his usually impassive voice.
"Me too, Uncle, me too," I sighed leading the way inside.
Once we were inside the med bay, I walked over to Chiron, who was keeping watch over the two demigods.
"Chiron if you would please escort my son out of the room and keep anyone from entering, then I would be thankful," I told him.
"Thank you for helping them, Lord Apollo, Lord Hades," Chiron said bowing to each of us.
I flinched slightly, but Chiron didn't seem to notice and after he and my children left the room I walked next to Annebeth's bedside and nodded to Hades.
"Do it," I said, bringing out a scalpel and box made of Stygian Ice.
Hades nodded back then walked to the end of the aisle between the two cots, spread his hands wide, and began chanting in Ancient Greek. When he began the lights in the room began to darken and the shadows seemed to reach out and dance for their master, while I stood like a night light in the gloom.
"Get ready, you'll have to be quick and precise," Hades reminded.
I just rolled my eyes in response, but tensed in anticipation. A few seconds later the spectral forms of Annebeth and Percy began to float away from their bodies and I could see the physical representations of the wounds on their souls. Where their left and right hands should be there was just a stump with ethereal blood dripping out, slowly killing them. I raised the the Stygian Ice scalpel to ghost Annebeth's right hand and, in one slice, cut it off and I caught the hand in the box. At that moment, Annebeth's physical body began spasming violently and her heart monitor began beeping erratically. Hades then brought his left arm down and the ghost Annebeth shot through the floor, which caused her body to stop convulsing and the heart monitor to let out a melancholy beep as she flat lined. I felt my heart drop, just like Annebeth's spirit, knowing there was no returning past this point. I walked over to Percy's bedside and placed the box with Annebeth's hand on the cot. The moment it hit the bed Hades pointed his left index finger at it which caused it to float up next to Percy's stump. I then pulled out a Stygian Ice needle and thread that looked like woven shadows, which it was. I then proceeded to stitch the hand onto Percy's stump as quickly and accurately as I could. Once, I was done I nodded at Hades again, and he slowly lowed his right hand which caused Percy's soul to sink back into his body and the shadows to recede back to their previous locations. After Percy's soul had sunk completely back into his body, both me and Hades released a breath we didn't know we were holding, thinking it was over. Unfortunately, Percy's heart monitor let out a mournful beep, joining Annebeth's in a symphony of sadness.
Hades looked at me and scowled. "His soul is rejecting the transplant."
"No, dammit! Not after all that, I won't let you!" I exclaimed, placing my hands on his forehead and chest.
"No, don't, you'll burn his soul!" Hades said stepping towards me.
"He'll die anyways," I said, releasing pure godly energy into him from my hands causing his back to arch off the cot and light to spew from his eyes and mouth.
Hades pulled me away, which caused his body to collapse back on the bed, limp. I waited hoping for that incessant beep to be replaced with a heartbeat, but after a minute I just placed my head in my hands, feeling more like a failure than ever. After a moment, I turned to go tell Chiron the horrible news, but was stopped by an electronic be-beep. I whirled and saw that Percy once again had a heart beat. I sighed in relief that it worked, then remembered my duty as a physician and summoned Annebeth's medical chart from my temple and wrote Time of Death: November 25, 2009 7:07 PM.
'Of course it would be my sacred number, to remind me of my failure," I thought bitterly.
"Lets go give Chiron the bittersweet news," I told Hades.
"You go ahead and tell the council, I am used to dealing with the mourning, you are not," Hades replied.
I nodded my head appreciatively to him, knowing that wasn't true and that he was sparing me the pain of telling them myself, as I flashed away.
AN: Well, there you go, a whole chapter without the title character, hope you liked it. If anyone is confused why Zeus has seemed quite different, that will be explained...at some point. Again, review and tell me what liked, didn't like, questions you have, anything like that. Until next time, this is Swordnoob signing off.