Chapter 21: Promises
The world couldn't have been more still as Annabeth materialized in a room of white marble. It was the same one she'd woken up in after being brought to the heavenly realm for the first time. And just like then, the space was devoid of everything besides a bed, a pillow, and divinity in the doorway. But this time, two pairs of celestial eyes were watching, both Aether and Hemera hanging back while Annabeth stepped in.
She wouldn't have noticed the primordials anyways, though, because her world had narrowed to the occupied bed on the far side of the room. In it laid the answer to all of her silent prayers, everything she'd wished for over the past week and from the very first moment she'd lost him. Annabeth soundlessly drew closer, and she could feel her heart swell when Percy's mouth shifted to hold his smile. His eyes were still closed, but he somehow just knew she was there.
"Hey, you."
Percy's voice came out heavy, like it hadn't been used in a while, and it shook as tears slipped their way past the corners of his eyes. Annabeth hadn't realized that she was already crying as she reached his bedside and grasped his hand. Immediately, she noticed how weak he was, but her attention shifted when his grip tightened and his eyes slowly opened.
Staring into shining irises, Annabeth fought to swallow the lump in her throat as she cleared away the cascade down her cheeks. Biting back more tears, she tried to understand what she was seeing right in front of her; Percy's gaze was wholly unburdened, weightless as it traced her face like she was art. It had centered completely on Annabeth, tossing aside not only the rest of the world but anything within Percy's own mind that might have pulled his focus from her. She didn't know how that was possible now.
"You can see it, can't you?"
His shaking voice gently led Annabeth out of her silence.
"Your eyes," she whispered, "They look like they did in our dreams. But without–"
Annabeth paused, a silent blush of fear keeping her from voicing her hope. Percy noticed immediately, and he gave her hand a soft squeeze.
"Without the anger," he finished for her, and his chest fell, exhaling as if an unbearable weight had been lifted from it.
"Without the anger," Annabeth repeated, unable to stop the well in her eyes.
Percy mirrored her, thumbing the back of her hand as he wiped his tears on his shoulder. None of this was making any sense to Annabeth; everything was perfect, and then some more. Not only was Hemera fine, but Percy was, too. And not only was he fine, he was him. There was no malevolent, uncontrollable, terrifying rage festering behind his eyes anymore. There was no monster at all; he was her Percy again.
"I couldn't have even dreamt this," Annabeth said quietly as she cupped his face with her other hand.
Percy grabbed her arm, slowly sitting up in bed. He winced while steadying himself, and Annabeth held him firmly before his eyes met hers again. And again, Annabeth was defenseless against their pouring witchlight, their devotion for her and only her. Percy silently cupped her face with both hands, and she unconsciously echoed him. Moments later, the pair gave into each other through no accord of their own, smiling softly until their lips touched.
The universe might as well have faded in that moment because Annabeth suddenly knew nothing to be true besides him, and her, and them together. Her fingers laced themselves behind Percy's neck before crawling into his mess of black hair. Annabeth breathed him in, savoring the taste of their endless serenity while Percy pulled her in as close as he could. In their blissful silence, Annabeth could hear the unspoken question his lips asked, pleading to never let go of hers, and she so badly wanted to listen. But a single word drilling through her skull forced her away.
"How?" she whispered, unwillingly inching back while Percy unknowingly drew forward.
He caught himself, opening his eyes and finding his dream again. Annabeth held similar adoration in her eyes, but she couldn't shake her gnawing confusion.
"How are you okay? How is Hemera?"
Percy's expression seemed to flutter for a moment, his brows furrowing as one of his hands pressed against his side. Reacting instantly, Annabeth's palm glowed white as she cupped the same spot. Her warmth flooded through Percy, his grimace melting as he laid back down on the bed, but Annabeth still wore her worry.
"He saved me."
Spinning towards the doorway, Annabeth found Hemera stepping through it. The primordial held her radiant smile that washed through the goddess, erasing her worry with its promise of springtime after winter. Aether followed closely behind, his face neutral as he dabbed his forehead. Annabeth's attention remained on her patron, waiting for her to continue.
"Percy was the one to free me from Tartarus' curse," Hemera began while Percy smiled from his bed, "In the brief time he has spent here, I have quickly come to understand why you feel the way you do about him."
"Hey now," Percy warned, raising himself on his elbows, "Primordial or not, Annabeth might kick your ass for saying stuff like that."
As Hemera chuckled softly, Annabeth whirled around with tinted cheeks and flicked Percy's shoulder. But she held a small smile, returning her gaze to the primordial while Percy massaged his arm. Again, she waited for Hemera to continue.
"When we left Olympus' throne room, Aether was already waiting here. Both my husband and I attempted to heal Percy together, and we made some progress. He became conscious again, though he could not move and could barely speak."
Annabeth firmly gripped Percy's hand, her chest clenching just imagining him in that pain, but her eyes didn't shift from Hemera.
"We continued pouring our strength into him until I fell down. Tartarus' curse had encompassed my body by then, exacerbated by my usage of my powers, and I could feel my soul fading. The chill bit at me, tearing at my essence, while Aether could only watch; primordials cannot heal from each others' curses, and none are more corrosive than Tartarus'."
Annabeth's vision sharpened, her brow creasing as she recalled her conversation with Hemera at the end of the Eclipse.
"So, when you said you had to talk to Aether," Annabeth paused, her eyes welling, "You never meant for you. You were only going to try and save Percy."
Hemera nodded, sparse tears falling from the sides of her eyes.
"I knew my fate was sealed the moment Tartarus took my arm. But I couldn't bear to leave without doing everything in my power to make sure you were not left alone."
Annabeth rushed forward and wrapped Hemera in a tight embrace, and the primordial held her just as firmly.
"I had never felt so defeated," Hemera whispered before her eyes brightened, "until Percy moved. Until his fingers dug into my husband's leg and snapped him out of his stupor."
Annabeth stepped back as she turned towards Aether. The Primordial of Light's eyes were heavy, but they shone in Percy's direction. Making her way back to his bedside, Annabeth's fingers interlaced themselves with Percy's.
"Listen to this part. It makes me sound almost as smart as you," he said, smirking up at her.
"It was brilliant," Aether agreed, "Lying across the ground, somehow still breathing, Percy lifted his head. He said 'take it from me,' and tried pointing at his own chest. We exchanged more words, and I learned that he meant Tartarus' blessing. I first tried to explain that I did not even know if it was possible, but he remained adamant throughout the whole discussion. I had never seen such spirit before; he all but crushed my ankle in his determination."
Percy chuckled sheepishly.
"Yeah, sorry about that again."
"You saved my wife, Percy. I am in your debt."
Annabeth squeezed Percy's hand as she stared at him through blurred vision. Even on the verge of death, he'd been fighting to save someone else.
"How did you know Tartarus' blessing could save Hemera?" she asked him.
"Never learned PEMDAS, Wise Girl?" Percy teased, wearing his lopsided smile.
Annabeth rolled her eyes as she shifted her attention to the primordials for a more thorough response.
"Part of that mortal concept applies strangely well to what actually happened," Aether continued, "I acted as a conduit while Percy relinquished his primordial blessing as Tartarus' champion."
Annabeth snapped back to Percy, her expression abject shock as she realized why the best of him had returned; the malevolent primordial's grasp over him was gone, and it had taken all of the horrible rage with it. Rivers poured as he stared up at her, his sea green eyes pure in a way she wouldn't have believed she'd ever see again.
Aether smiled at the pair, acknowledging the truth that Annabeth had just pieced together.
"We impart a fraction of ourselves in our blessings, and in this case, Tartarus' remnant essence inside Percy was used to neutralize his own curse. It was as if the primordial himself had erased it from Hemera, unburdening her soul and allowing her to heal."
Annabeth pulled Percy into an iron embrace, ignoring his coughing laugh as she buried her head in the crook of his neck.
"Thank you, Percy," she whispered through her sobs, only for his weary voice to scoff.
"I should be thanking you, too," he answered.
Annabeth laid him back down, slightly tilting her head as she wiped her eyes.
"I fell into a sort of coma right after," Percy explained, but he'd started mincing his words, "I was asleep this whole week, and I only woke up when I felt this insane pull in my mind. It jerked me awake, and Hemera was here telling me that you were creating new Olympians. The pull was 'my' godly weapons, and I let them go for whoever you'd chosen. So, by picking those people, you basically dragged me back to life."
Annabeth smiled as Percy kissed her softly. But before she could melt into him, another weight pressed in her mind. She wanted to hate how skeptical she was being, but her concern for Percy far outweighed any of her own present desires.
"But isn't that too simple?" Annabeth asked, reluctantly tearing herself away, "If primordials can at least stop their own curses, why didn't Tartarus? Percy, you hit him with his blessed Master Bolt and with the glaive. He died in that harsh orange eruption from his curse; couldn't he have also stopped his soul from being reaped by it?"
The room seemed to visibly darken, and Annabeth felt the hairs on her neck rise. Her head snapped towards the primordials near the doorway only to find them both wearing sullen expressions. Beads of sweat trickled down Aether's forehead, and he was too slow to wipe them away before Annabeth took notice. She remembered that he'd entered the room doing the same thing. And when Hemera began blinking back tears, Annabeth's heart started to hammer in her chest.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, fear clawing its way up her tightening throat.
Annabeth's world began to spiral, her breathing becoming unsteady, before Percy squeezed her hand. Gently, he turned her back towards him, lifting himself upright to meet her unfocused eyes. It took a moment for Annabeth to even her breath, but her stormy gaze eventually centered on Percy. She could see pain in his eyes again, a fresh wave of sorrow, and they both knew she wasn't going to repeat herself.
"Annabeth," he began, forcefully swallowing, "We stopped a soul from getting destroyed. That takes another soul."
A piercing ringing filled Annabeth's ears, a thousand dreams shattering all at once. Her mouth dried of its ability to form words while her mind muddied with a cascade of emotions. Disbelief and indignance and anger and anguish, and a dozen more ripped through her like a murky torrent as she wrestled with what she was hearing.
"All of me that was corrupted was tied to that blessing," Percy whispered, his hands quivering as they wrapped Annabeth's, "But so was my life. I'm not even supposed to be here; Aether's been anchoring me since that day just so I could maybe see you again."
"No."
Annabeth fought to keep her voice level, her legs shaking as she shot a glance at the two primordials.
"Tell me he's lying. Tell me I'm not here to watch him die."
Hemera's tears had begun to fall, her lip trembling as she shook her head. Beside her, Aether's face was locked in a grimace, his neck tight and his shoulders stiff. Only then did Annabeth realize how he'd been straining himself, keeping a soul tethered to the world through only his will.
"Thank you for everything, guys," Percy said earnestly as he nudged Annabeth to turn back to him.
The pair of primordials solemnly nodded before they vanished in a dim flash of light. Annabeth couldn't see past a wall of silent tears, her knees on the verge of giving out, when Percy pulled her into him. She threw her arms around his neck, crying soundlessly against his shoulder as he did the same.
"I'm still a god, you know," Percy choked out, "even after giving the mantle to you. That means I'm going to Chaos, so this isn't really the end."
"No," Annabeth repeated, her voice muffled, "You can't leave me. Please."
She pushed away from him, shaking as she stuffed her hand into one of her pockets. Percy tried and failed to clear his throat, his chest heaving as he shook his head.
"I'm not leaving you, ever. You made sure of that."
As Annabeth rifled a folded paper from her jeans, she paused.
"What do you mean?"
"In Nico's tent," Percy said, pulling her to him again, "You told me you did all this, with Aether and Hemera, because it was what I would've done. From the exact time we were forced apart, you took on all of the best parts of me."
Percy's weak hands cupped Annabeth's face, his thumbs drawing soft circles on her tear-stained cheeks. She added her own hands over his, closing her eyes as she breathed in the warmth of his palms.
"For all of the bad things that happened in this life, I don't regret a single one of the moments we spent together. And it doesn't matter how long we're apart now, the best of me is always going to be with you." Percy managed a grin. "You'll need some of my genius to be the Queen of the Gods."
Annabeth chuckled quietly as tears still inched past her closed eyes. Her grip tightened on his fingers, her lips still quivering as she moved their hands from her face.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," she sobbed, unfolding the paper she was holding, "We were supposed to do it together."
A new wave of tears poured from Percy as he stared at the penciled drawing, fixating on the two chairs sketched beside each other.
"Are those ours?"
Annabeth nodded silently, not giving her voice the chance to fail her. Percy thumbed the thin rip down the center of the page, his breathing ragged as he gently eased the paper from her hands. Slowly, Annabeth's grip on it loosened, her eyes closing while her dream slipped through her fingers. Careful to not disturb the tear, Percy folded the drawing again and tucked it into his own pocket.
"Now I have something to keep me busy when I get to wherever gods go," he said, wiping his cheeks.
Annabeth loved him for how hard he was trying to make everything seem okay. Her heart ached as she thought about being without him again, and she knew Percy was sharing that same feeling. Still, they had each other now, and Annabeth wasn't going to waste a single one of the moments left between them. Meeting his eyes, she saw only unadulterated love, and she'd never been more certain that her own gaze mirrored his.
"Yeah?" she asked, donning her bright smile, "You're gonna decipher my blueprints yourself, Seaweed Brain? Even the measurements?"
Percy scoffed, brushing the tears from her red-rimmed eyes before he smirked.
"I'll have the time to figure it all out, Wise Girl," he shot back, "While you're here doing dumb stuff like leading the world, I'll have set the whole thing up."
Percy's mouth shifted to a small smile as he squeezed Annabeth's hands. Slowly, he stood from his seat on the bed's edge, his eyes never leaving hers.
"And I'll leave the porch light on for you."
A calm silence fell between them while the rest of the world melted away. Annabeth was looking up at him, transfixed on the details of his face. She retraced the way his lips curled around his lopsided smile. She memorized the way his hair swayed, a perfectly disheveled bundle of black that seemed to have a mind of its own. And, like always, she stopped at his eyes. Annabeth would stand against the universe with anything they told her, trusting their silent language over anything real or measurable.
They spoke to her now, telling her that Percy was doing the same. He followed the way her hair fell around her, shining blonde curls framing her in a regal light; he'd known she was a princess since the morning they'd met. He etched into his heart the way she smiled at him, a brilliant crescent moon that his tides couldn't help but follow. And, of course, he committed her eyes to his soul. He saw forever in those endless grey oceans that he always lost himself in.
Annabeth breathed in deeply, closing her blurred eyes and steeling her shaking legs. Her hands locked around his neck as his arms wrapped her waist. They banished any empty space between them as they pulled into each other, and they kissed. For a perfect, ephemeral moment, Percy and Annabeth traversed their coming eternity together, each holding a silent promise for the other.
Tears seeped from beneath their closed eyes as Percy's shape began to flicker. Instead of fighting to tighten her grasp, Annabeth pulled her lips from his, just far away to speak. She whispered to his fading form, her words barely audible, and he spoke back just as softly. They shared a tearful smile as Percy vanished into wisps of silver smoke.
Left alone in the marble room, Annabeth lowered herself onto the edge of the emptied bed. She let the well in her eyes slowly recede as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her shoulders still shook, her chest still coiled, and her stomach still felt so, so heavy, but she held her small smile. Their final exchange continued to echo in her mind, and Annabeth would hold onto it until she heard Percy's voice again.
"I promise I'll find my way back to you," she'd said.
"I promise I'll be waiting," he'd answered.
A/N: I was actually pretty devastated when I realized this was how I was gonna end the story. Also this whole note is unnecessary; I'm just kind of explaining to myself why I wrote it this way. I created what I consider an irredeemable Percy in this story. He killed gods (which were all valid imo) but he also indiscriminately killed demigods. Even at the beginning of the story, Leo didn't deserve to (fake) die, and obviously neither did any of the demigods on Olympus that were ignored and killed by the rivers. I would've been a little unhappy as a reader if this Percy got a perfect ending, so I compromised. I'm just so sad that Annabeth got screwed the way she did, and she's why I'll probably eventually write an epilogue where they reunite in the Chaos/godly equivalent of the afterlife. But, man, this story is over. Loved writing it, and thank you so much for reading. I really hope you enjoyed, and I can't wait to write for you again when I'm back :)
iNeptune: Wow this story is crazy amazing! From fantastic action scenes to all the things Annabeth did in this chapter…i just can't wait to read the end!
Avatar Vader: Bahhhhh! Cliffhanger! Though i suppose in this case…. A nice long and frank conversation with the Queen of the Gods and her Godly King-Consort is going to be Nice and promising! I do hope we get the chance to see some "Several years (or Millenia) later and show potential godlings they might have hahaha. A break from writing is totally understandable! Just dont forget about us over here on little ole FFN!
I reallyyyy hope I didn't whiplash either of you too hard with that ending. Did my best to give both of our heroes closure and end their arcs in a meaningful way that I thought made the most sense. Like I said in the note above, I do want to write an epilogue set millenia later after Annabeth has changed the world as the Queen of the Gods, and she meets Percy again. It may take a while, and I'll be marking the story as complete until then, but I really do want to have that reunion happen. Hope you guys felt satisfied by the chapter, and thank you both for reviewing!