Chapter 25: Love Through A Legacy
Percy's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the same well-lit hospital room he'd woken up in once before. Just like last time, Apollo stood with his back turned, leaning against the corner of the bed. Silently, Percy's hand traveled up to his throbbing temples. He tried to organize his jumbled memories of how he'd ended up here, separating what he knew had happened from what he desperately prayed hadn't. Apollo, sensing movement, whirled around with his signature grin plastered across his face.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Perce!" Apollo said brightly before he leaned in and his expression turned deadly serious.
Artemis jerked awake from a chair adjacent to the bed, pulled out of her sleep by her twin's excited voice.
"It's been eighty-four years," the sun god said gravely while his patient's eyes darted around the room.
Percy didn't acknowledge the statement, his vision settling on an object in the corner closest to the door. He stared at Poseidon's golden trident leaning proudly against the doorframe as it called to him. The memories that he'd wished were just nightmares crowded at the forefront of his mind, and the pain of reliving them washed over him. Percy shut his eyes tightly, and his body faded into shadow.
"Okay, that wasn't that not-funny," Apollo huffed, straightening his back, "It's from Titanic; I thought everybody loved that movie!"
Artemis ignored her twin, fixated on Percy's sudden disappearance. She followed where his gaze had gone, quickly realizing the culprit of his reaction. The goddess vanished in a flash of silver.
(Line Break)
Artemis appeared on the familiar shoreline of Alcatraz Island just a few yards behind Percy. He was sitting in the sand in the same way he always had, and the goddess felt waves of nostalgia roll over her, recalling all of the times she'd come to find him. She took her own seat in the sand alongside him, mirroring his position.
Percy's eyes never left the water, transfixed on their Sea Jewel that no longer gave off even a semblance of shine. Artemis turned to look at him, finding a stone expression painted with streaks of silent tears. She knew she couldn't be the one to bring it up, and settled on giving him good news instead.
"After Tartarus' defeat last night, all of the demigods were safely transported back to Camp Half-Blood. The fallen ones' shrouds were burned earlier today, and Hades personally expedited Elysium for all of them."
Percy cracked a small smile.
"So, it hasn't actually been eighty-four years?"
Artemis nudged his shoulder with her own, smiling softly.
"No, it hasn't. I would have hit you very hard if you had taken that long to wake up," Artemis teased before she spoke carefully, "But now that you have, Apollo has likely already informed my father, which means the awards ceremony will be later tonight."
Percy understood her implication.
"And I'll have to 'take my place,'" he said stoically, his face morphing back into a frown.
Artemis didn't respond, and they sat in silence until she rested her head on his shoulder. Percy began to shake softly as he cried before Artemis wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her. He buried his head in her neck, sobbing.
The goddess mentally cursed herself, feeling helpless as the man she loved cried in her arms. She wished she had the words to make all of his pain fade, but Artemis didn't even know the circumstances of how her uncle had passed. As if hearing her thoughts, Percy's form fell still and silent.
"'I have chosen an heir. I willingly submit to returning to the Void of Chaos,'" he finally whispered.
Artemis lifted Percy's eyes to meet hers, silently asking him to continue.
"That's what my dad said before some kind of unbreakable barrier went up, and he eventually faded. He was in so much pain, Artemis. Both primordials tried destroying his soul, but he held on through it, and I still couldn't save him," Percy finished, his voice quivering.
Artemis' own eyes welled with tears, not only from learning what Poseidon had gone through and what Percy had to witness, but because he didn't realize how important his reaching his father was.
"It was you that saved your father, Percy," she said in an assuring tone, still holding him.
The new Olympian looked at her questioningly.
"Selene spoke the same words when she passed her domain to me. She smiled as she faded, knowing she was returning to Chaos, where we are all meant to go. Without you, Percy, your father would not have faded; he would have died. You were there when he, and the rest of us, needed you most, and you gave Poseidon somewhere to return to," Artemis softly explained.
Percy sat in silence for a moment, processing her words as he stared into her silver eyes. He sighed.
"Thank you, Artemis, really. I just wish it didn't hurt so much now that he's gone," Percy said, his eyes still glassy as he held her in his hands.
"Your father is not gone," Artemis replied insistingly.
Again, Percy tilted his head.
"When do you think people are gone, Percy? When they die? Fade? Disappear for a year in the House of Night?" she asked.
Percy rubbed the back of his neck, waiting for Artemis to continue.
"People are gone when they are forgotten and when what they spent their lives building disappears. In becoming God of the Seas, you are a breathing reason for why Poseidon will always be with us; you stand as his life's legacy. And he will persevere forever in all of our memories. It applies even to our godly objects; Poseidon still lives on through the memories of his trident. Your father will never be gone, Percy."
The new god held a small smile, turning away from the goddess as his gaze returned to the sea. Artemis shifted alongside him, noticing new tears venture down his face. She smiled, knowing they were for the right reason, as she laid her head on his shoulder. Percy rested his head on top of hers as the pair sat quietly observing the moon and tides.
After a few minutes of silence, Percy lifted his head and turned to Artemis. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. The goddess smiled into his lips as she closed her eyes.
"What was that for?" she asked after he pulled away.
"A small 'thank you.' I don't know if I ever would've realized any of that without you, Arty. And," Percy paused, quickly stealing another kiss, "I think I have a year's worth to catch up on."
"You're damn right about that, fish boy, and so do I," Artemis answered, taking one of her own.
The couple playfully showered each other with kisses on their lips or cheeks or neck. Naturally, they quickly became competitive in trying to one-up the other. Tangled together, the pair rolled in the sand as their laughter rang out across the beach.
Artemis came out on top, literally, as she pinned Percy to the ground, leaning over him. The goddess smiled down at him, her legs immobilizing his hips, while he stared lovingly back at her.
"You know," he started, "my dad knew about us."
Artemis raised an eyebrow.
"How?" she asked, knowing that there was essentially no way for anyone to have told Poseidon.
"I couldn't tell you for sure, but it was the last thing he told me before… you know. He told me to take good care of you,"
Artemis blushed, surprised that Poseidon would ever say anything remotely tender towards her.
"and that it was time for us to 'learn the true nature' of our Sea Jewel. That's sort of my guess; he could somehow see glimpses through the jewel," Percy guessed.
The goddess climbed to her feet, pulling Percy up with her.
"Then, I believe we should honor his wish," Artemis said as the pairs' eyes traveled to the darkened sphere floating in the sea.
They reached the shoreline, and Percy inhaled deeply before taking a step forward. His foot didn't disturb the sea's surface. The Olympian of the Oceans took another step, walking atop the water as he offered Artemis his hand.
The goddess looked down at the flowing sea beneath him, in awe of the ability. But she took his hand and then her own cautious steps. Artemis joined him, walking on the ocean as if it were solid, as they neared their Sea Jewel hand in hand.
Standing in front of the dim sphere that they'd deliberately kept a mystery between them, Percy moved Artemis' hand to his shoulder as he knelt down to grab the stone. Immediately as he touched it, the torrent of a foreign memory flooded his mind.
(Line Break)
A full, silver moon illuminated the landscape while waves lapped against a familiar strip of beach. A man and a woman walked together along the shoreline of Alcatraz Island. The woman was strikingly beautiful. She brushed her long, brown hair from her face, revealing shining blue eyes and a warm smile. The woman looked serenely at peace, strolling along while softly rubbing her protruding baby bump.
At her side, the man seemed to be more than anxious and jittery enough for the both of them. He rambunctiously ran his hand through his jet-black hair and scratched his trimmed beard while his sea green eyes darted in every direction. When he finally seemed to regain control of his hands, the man placed them behind his back and immediately began fidgeting with some hidden object.
The woman smiled, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she came to a stop. She grabbed her partner's shoulder and turned him towards her, looking at him expectantly while he tried to stare elsewhere.
"Out with it, Poseidon," she said sternly, feigning a glare at the god standing before her.
Poseidon resisted a moment longer before he inhaled deeply and sighed.
"I- I- uh- I want-" he began, stumbling through his sentence, "Alright, just do it," he whispered to himself.
Poseidon moved at lightning speed, kicking up sand as the woman looked away. When she questioningly returned her gaze to the god, she stood stunned. On one knee, Poseidon sheepishly smiled up at her as he presented her the ring he'd been hiding behind his back.
It was unbearably beautiful. The silver band was thinly inlet with diamonds and glowed in the moonlight. The shining ring flowed seamlessly up to its spokes, presenting its recipient with its shifting crown gem. It was emerald, no, aquamarine, no, sapphire. The jewel never settled, mixing and shifting between the colors of the oceans, the hues and shades ebbing and flowing like the tides.
Poseidon uneasily cleared his throat, breaking the woman's transfixed gaze on the ring.
"Sally Jackson, will you marry me and stand alongside me forever?" the Olympian asked hopefully.
He faltered as he looked up into the mortal's kind eyes, recognizing her expression. Sally reached down, softly running a finger across both the jewel and the exposed band as she smiled warmly at the sea god. She cupped Poseidon's hand and closed it over the ring before answering his question.
"I love you, Poseidon, and I can't put in words how much this means to me, but you're already married," she explained to him.
"We- we can make it work," Poseidon insisted, unwilling to relent, "I can build you your own palace in Atlantis where we can keep our boy safe."
The god held his hand to her stomach, feeling the presence of his coming son. Sally smiled and shook her head, placing her own hand on top of his.
"That's another thing; I want our son to grow up here. I know how mesmerizing Atlantis is, and I fully trust that you'd protect us both there. But our little boy is going to find his own way there someday when he's thrust into your world of heroes and monsters. Until then, I want him to live in mine," she said, turning towards the glow in the sky.
Poseidon followed her gaze.
"I need him to experience this world above, too. I want him to fall in love with the moon before he shoulders his destiny from the sea," Sally finished, her eyes welling up as she wondered about her son's future.
Poseidon sadly rose from one knee, understanding her perspective. He pulled Sally into his embrace as he thought about what to do next. Drawing a blank, the god asked for her opinion.
"Now that I have been wholly rejected," he began, eliciting a laugh from Sally, "what do I do about this?"
Poseidon opened his hand, once again unveiling the gorgeous ring. Sally stared at it again, entranced.
"Flash it a couple more times, and maybe I'll change my mind," she said jokingly.
Poseidon smirked, opening and closing his hand repeatedly, making Sally laugh again.
"Why don't we keep it here?" she asked, gesturing around her, "This is sort of our place on this side of the country isn't it? It's like our 'West Montauk.' And with it becoming harder to get away now that our little guy is coming along, this might be the last time we're here together. Leave it and make it a place where we'll always have an 'us.'"
"I think that's brilliant," Poseidon said, smiling.
He clasped the ring between his hands and brought it to his mouth. The god closed his eyes and blew into a gap between his thumbs, making a bright light emanate from it. As Poseidon stopped exhaling, he held his hands open and turned towards Sally.
"The ring is yours, and I have encased it in a part of myself as well," he said, holding out a shining sphere for her to see.
"We will always have an 'us.'" the sea god repeated definitively, sliding the sphere into the ocean.
It fell to a floating rest a hundred feet from the shore, shimmering in its splendor as the couple stared at it together.
(Line Break)
The Sea Jewel's casing crumbled, and Percy tripped forward, fresh tears trickling from his eyes. Artemis reacted instantly, clutching his shoulder and keeping him upright. Percy quickly scooped up the sole contents of the emptied capsule.
"Percy, is everything alright? You just touched it and fell forward," Artemis asked worriedly, and the god realized that not even a second had passed since before he'd grasped the Sea Jewel.
"Is everything alright?" the goddess repeated.
"It couldn't be any better," Percy whispered, turning on one knee.
He unlatched her hand from his shoulder, grasping it softly as he looked up at her and presented the ring. Tears dripped from his eyes as he awaited her reaction.
Artemis' eyes bugged out of her head as she stared down at the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful artwork she'd ever seen. She met Percy's gaze while both shock and adoration danced in her eyes.
"I can't explain where I got this yet," Percy admitted, nodding to the ring, "But, Artemis, will you marry me and let me keep falling in love with you forever?"
Tears sparked from her, only making Percy's worse, as she nodded profusely. The goddess smiled brightly at her lover.
"Yes," she whispered, "as long as you allow me to do the same."
The kneeling Olympian slipped the ring onto her finger, and she stumbled. It only took Percy one look to realize she'd also instantly relived the same foreign memory. The goddess clamped her free hand over her mouth as she sobbed, looking down at the ring that was a testament to both of her now-fiancé's parents.
They surged towards each other, wrapping in an embrace as Percy lifted her off of the surface of the sea. They laughed and cried as the gravity of their decision set in.
"Are we really doing this?" Artemis asked, looking deep into Percy's eyes.
He answered her question silently, kissing her. She smiled into it, wrapping her hands tighter around his neck. Percy pulled her waist closer, and nothing could ruin their perfect moment in time.
Percy put her down softly as they pulled away.
"Now we've got our own surprise to bring to the awards ceremony," he said, laughing.
"My father might explode," Artemis half-jokingly warned.
"He'll manage," Percy responded, squeezing her hands, "Ready?"
The goddess nodded, and the pair dematerialized into the night.
The beachfront returned to a natural silence after Percy and Artemis disappeared, but there was nothing natural about how large the moon looked in the sky. Or how it illuminated the world that night. Or how the sea shone with its own brilliance. Or how high the tides rose with each flow, reaching up to try and touch the celestial body above. There was absolutely nothing natural about how their love had affected the world around them.
A/N: Heh, I really really enjoyed writing this short chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. Awards ceremony coming up next, and big things are going to be transpiring there. More wholesome chapters to come as well as, of course, rewards for our heroes. I think there will also be an epilogue chapter at the very very end. So crazy to think that it's almost fully complete.
PokemonAndPJOFanboy: Well Perseus lives up to his name in this one as he finally destroyed Tartarus, and avenged his family :P. Wow, it now seems we're mostly done with the sad stuff, and headed towards the happy ending. BRING FORTH THE ADORABLE PERTEMIS MOMENTS (please)! It's really weird realizing how close to the end of this story we are. I will be sad when it ends, but I am excited for what you write next! Hope you're healthy, and having fun at Uni! As always you leave us eagerly awaiting your return with another chapter o mighty weaver of tales! Lol.
Our guy Percy is really all grown up. This chapter was just a small taste of what's right around the corner for them, and I'm seriously glad you've enjoyed it so far! Also you're so right, it feels so strange being almost done. As for coming stories, I don't want to give a definite answer in either direction just yet. Between my internship, work as a trainer, and most recently starting a website for an idea I had, I really want to make sure I give you guys quality content on here. So I may potentially take a short break after this story is done, but I can absolutely promise more stories will be coming; it's just a matter of when.
Wings Ranger: And here we go with another great chapter. this could just be me but I thought the Olympians knew of Percys return but I stand corrected I guess thinking about it it didn't end up happening. P.S thank you this has made this one of the best nights of my life in the past few years I I toured the Sydney Opera house went to the Australian Museum and went across the Sydney harbour Bridge for the first time. I'm from Aus but have never spent much time in NSW.
I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. And yeah, haha, they didn't get the chance to find out since Typhon started rampaging just as the year of peace ended. Big surprise for everybody. I'm so glad I could play a part in such a good night of yours. That sounds so cool. I've always wanted to visit Australia and specifically Sydney, and I'll be sure to do all of those things when I do too.
Ladis11: Any chance of seeing Nyx join the pairing?
Nah, personally never been a fan of harems.
levisorus:hell yeah man! that's what i'm talking about. screw tartarus and any other powerful being that tries to get in percy jackson's way! this was an amazing chapter man, i enjoyed it. was a nice way to start my morning. once again you have delivered an amazing chapter and i'm looking forward to the fuzzy stuff after all the seriousness! bring back tyche! even for a minute lol. the way that ALL of the olympians fought against tartarus was honestly very interesting, all though percy has gotten a major buff it wasn't enough to face a primodial and i think this comes back to a review after percy had died, where i said that i really enjoyed that percy respected the more powerful beings. it just makes the story so much more enjoyable, the fact that they worked together as a family and percy isn't the single hero of the story. even down to nyx helping him finish the job. that's what i always liked about percy, even in TLO. percy chose to let luke end himself rather then thinking he could do it all alone fighting the titan lord. percy understands when he isn't strong enough to take someone down so he relies on others. the way you incorporated that special fact into this story is just honestly amazing. ahh— next chapter. i've started the writing on it but haven't gotten too far yet. the new year has been a whirl and i've been busy. now that i have some times i'm hyperfixated on tlou but hopefully i'll update soon. thanks for a good chapter and hope uni isn't too harsh on ya. until next week.
Gonzalj: not going to lie this was pretty epic, you made Percy powerful but to a limit and you actually showed Aphrodite being an Olympian good f'ing job.
Thank you both for the reviews and sticking around throughout the story's run. I grouped them together for the similarity in Percy's power ups. I think his reliance on friends and family is an INTEGRAL part of his character that too many stories just gloss over. He was never supposed to be a one-man army when it comes to the big evils the world faces. I especially loved your reference to Luke's sacrifice and how Percy knew it wasn't his own duty to do. Also, I thought it was the only way to do someone like Tartarus of all monsters justice; I don't think there's any rational way to make Percy seriously beat him 1v1. And I loved giving Aphrodite her props; she's MUCH older than any of the other Olympians and her power gets overlooked too much by many stories making her just a bubbly airhead. Anyways, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and hope to see you continue to review! :)
I still couldn't respond to everybody, but thank you all so much! I love every review and they're what motivates me to continue updating. But I'm glad I got to respond to more reviews in-depth without inflating word counts to like 7000, haha. One of the few benefits of a short chapter. Until next week :)