L
Percy
(A/N: Chapter 50. You may think, great. Another Percy chapter. Well, let me just say that any Percabeth fans are going to be drowning in tears today. I'm sorry about this turn of events. I know everyone loves Percabeth. But I like writing to express my ideas. And unfortunately, this is an idea that I had. Don't worry, I will write a chapter at the end of the book making it better. I can't give you exact details, but it will turn out fine in the end. But for now, read. Review. I hope you don't burst into tears. I'm sorry.)
When Percy woke up, he found a giant pile of squid on his face. It was still alive.
"AH!" he screamed, waking up the squid as well. It sprayed ink in his face, then dropped to the floor and started to squirm, trying to get away. Unfortunately, this was land, and it couldn't swim here. It was panting, at least until it disappeared.
Percy was positive that he looked like a kindergartener with all the ink on his face. He was going to get back Annabeth for that one. "Really?" he yelled. "Did you need to do that?"
Annabeth's voice came from the bathroom, muffled by the sound of the shower. "Yes, I did. I heard that scream, by the way. It was nice." Percy could almost imagine her smirking at his discomfort.
He got off the bed (he hadn't even changed his clothes from last night) and looked at the clock. It was 10 in the morning, so there was another hour before the grand secret was revealed.
He scratched his head, still groggy. After waiting for over half an hour for Annabeth to come out of the bathroom ("Well, I'm a girl, okay?") he finally got to change into some cleaner clothes (provided by Chronus), because his smelled like a combination of poison, slime and charred earth. He stuffed those in a bag and threw them in a trash can.
When he came back out, it was 10:45. Annabeth had already gone down, judging by the fact that her half of the bed was neatly folded. His side looked like a rubbish dump.
After doing a horrible job of the sheets, he had only five minutes left to get down to the lobby. But because he had never taken the route, he had no idea where to go. He first went left from the exit, finding himself at a spa. He turned the other way, and upon walking past his room, he realized that he had forgotten to close the door. Then, he walked right, where he found himself at the stairs. What he didn't know was that they were living on the 20th floor, and he had to walk down 20 flights of stairs. When he got to the lobby, which was where he had assumed the reception was, he then learnt that it was actually on the 2nd floor. There were no lifts at the time, and being the person who hated waiting, he had to walk up there. When he arrived, he was half an hour late.
"So," Chronus was telling her, "We're going to be heading up to Mount Etna. That's where your anchor is."
Percy walked up to them. "Erm, hey. So what is the anchor like?"
Chronus looked at him and ignored him. "Let's go there." he said. He snapped his fingers, and the world started to spin. When the psychedelic effects had stopped, Percy found himself on a mountainside.
"So, Mount Etna, eh?" he muttered. The sky was completely clear today. It beat down on them like a giant oven. Percy started to sweat, despite being under the shade of a bus and only having been there for a few seconds.
Chronus began to walk up the hill. Percy and Annabeth followed.
"Gaia chose this place because it was so powerful." he said like a tour guide. "Typhon was once imprisoned beneath this mountain. This is a powerful place."
An oath to keep with a final breath. The thought suddenly sprang to Percy's mind. He forced it away.
When they reached the top, Chronus suddenly stopped. He turned around to face them, with a look on his face that told Percy that whatever he was about to do was not something good.
"First, I need to make a few arrangements." he said. "Before Percy could react, he touched Annabeth's forehead with his hand. Immediately, her eyes changed. They became the eyes of a madman. When he let go of her forehead, she screamed a guttural scream, her eyes filling with tears.
"Annabeth!" Percy ran to her, but she slapped him hard on the cheek. "Get away from me!" she yelled.
Chronus stepped to her. "I need you to follow me. Don't fight- I can defeat you in a battle." immediately, she tensed up and let him lead her.
Percy's mind raced. What was Chronus doing? He ran at him and lunged. Chronus just slowed time down, walked a few steps, then reverted it back to its normal pace.
"What did you do to her?" Percy yelled at him. How had he ever trusted this man? He was probably going to take Annabeth to Athens, then kill her! "Give me back Annabeth!"
Chronus sighed. He turned towards Percy. His eyes seemed ages older than he already was, like they were weighed down. "Percy, all I have told you is that the anchor is Mount Etna. That is true. But I couldn't tell you how to destroy it, or you would have never agreed." he sighed again. "To destroy it, a person- with nothing that they cared about in the mortal world aside from themselves- had to make the ultimate sacrifice."
Percy took a bit of time to process it. "So that means-"
"Annabeth will have to jump into the volcano." Chronus sighed again. "I know what you're going to say next. 'Why not me?' you'll ask. Well, you have to have no connections, nothing you care about. You've never had that in your life. Annabeth, on the other hand, has been faced with that kind of mindset, when she ran away from home all those years ago. I simply reverted her mind to that state. It is the only way to destroy the anchor."
Percy couldn't accept that it was the only way. But what Chronus said had an element of truth to it. He couldn't accept that there wasn't enough time to think of a new solution to this problem.
"Simply destroying the volcano won't work." Chronus said. "Gaia designed this anchor specifically for you, Percy. She knew that you would not be able to let Annabeth be sacrificed. Don't let her win, Percy."
By now, they had reached the caldera. Below them, hot lava sizzled and bubbled. "Jump." Chronus said.
Annabeth stepped forward. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Then her fourth and final step sent her plunging downwards.
Percy couldn't hold himself back. He bolted forward, grabbing her hand before she fell. "No!" he yelled. "I can't let you do this!"
Annabeth was dangling in midair. If he loosened his hand, Annabeth would die. "Let go." Chronus croaked. "I don't want this any more than you do, but it has to be done."
"No!" Percy yelled back. "I refuse to believe that there are no other solutions!"
"Let me go!" Annabeth yelled from below him. She scratched his hands, trying to get him to loosen his fingers. But all it did was make him hold her tighter.
"Let her go, Percy." Percy heard the voice of someone that he thought he'd never hear from again. He turned around to see Poseidon. His own father.
"I never thought that you would betray me like this!" he yelled savagely. "I thought you were better than that!"
"Let her go." another familiar voice echoed off the walls of the caldera. Percy turned the other way and saw Athena. Annabeth's mother. "I once told you, that to save a friend you would sacrifice the world. Don't let it become true. I was talking about this moment. If you make the wrong choice, then it's over. The world ends." her voice was surprisingly gentle. "Please. Don't let all that has happened go to waste."
"Why can't I just do it myself?" he yelled back.
"Because if you jumped in there, it would only make Gaia stronger. She would rise earlier." Chronus replied.
The heat from the volcano was choking. He could barely keep holding on. "No!" he yelled. "I refuse to let go!"
"Percy." Poseidon came over to him. He was wearing his regular fisherman's outfit. "The world. A friend. This is your choice, Percy." Percy winced as Annabeth tried to bite his finger off. "We can't tell you what you have to do. But if you don't, the world ends."
An oath to keep with a final breath.
He'd been thinking of that line all day. Now he knew why.
He looked Annabeth straight in the eye.
"I once promised you that we would never be separated. Ever. And I'm not about to break that promise."
He took a deep breath... and jumped.
"NO!"
That was Poseidon's voice. He tried to grab Percy's foot, but he couldn't.
The air whistled past Percy's ears as he hugged Annabeth tight. He'd chosen to let Gaia wake earlier, but at the same time destroy the anchor.
To save a friend you will sacrifice the world.
It hadn't exactly turned out that way, Percy reflected as they dropped down...
And down...
And down...
And hit the lava.
(A/N: In case you are wondering, yes. Percy and Annabeth are dead.)