Percy
Perseus 'Percy' Jackson was born in New York City on August 18th, 1992. His mother was Sally Jackson, and his father, well, his father was none other than the God of the Ocean, Poseidon. Sally named him after the Greek hero, Perseus, the Son of Zeus, as he was the only hero to not die a super tragic death.
Percy grew up a normal child, for the most part. There was that time he strangled a snake that had slithered into his crib. He also saw things, things that no one else saw.
When Percy was three, his mother married an absolute ass of a man, named Gabe Ugliano. The dude smelled awful, like moldy pizza wrapped in gym shorts that had never been washed. He would also beat Percy and his mother. Why she married him, he wouldn't find out for a while.
When Percy got old enough to go to school, he was diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia, before being expelled. He was expelled every year, from every school, including some military academies, for something or other.
But when he was twelve, everything changed. In the span of one summer, he found out he was a demigod, a son of Poseidon, found out that someone had blamed him for stealing a weapon that made nuclear bombs look like firecrackers, and that he had ten days to find it and clear his name. And with his best friend Grover, and frenemy Annabeth, he did just that. He found out Luke had stolen the bolt, and that he was planning on waging a war against the Gods via raising Kronos.
When he was thirteen, Luke poisoned Thalia's tree, causing Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson to sneak onto a quest to find the Golden Fleece and rescue Grover from Polyphemus. After sneaking onto a yacht in the middle of a cruise, opening a couple of Monster Donuts, riding a confederate warship, turning into a guinea pig, he finally found the Golden Fleece. He gave it to Clarrise to buy her time. He revealed Luke's plans to Dionysus, stole a flying horse, and won a chariot race before the summer ended.
That winter, he found two powerful children, met Artemis, lost Annabeth, and was in a supernatural bus crash. After befriending a sea cow, he snuck upon another quest to rescue Annabeth, ended up fighting the Nemean Lion and killing it with the help of Zoë Nightshade, and made a dam joke. He met his future in laws, held the sky, then watched as the Gods voted on whether or not they should kill him. Oh, and he got to dance with Annabeth after her mother threatened him.
When he was fourteen, he made a mortal friend, blew up a school, walked around a maze for a couple of days, cleaned some horse stables, fought a man with three chests, ran from a monster that made the Gods scared, got kissed in a volcano, exploded said volcano, woke the most powerful monster ever from his beauty sleep, rejected a girl, crashed his own funeral, took his mortal friend down into the maze, walked around said maze for a couple more days, then exploded a national park, flew, then fought in a battle, and wished that he knew the names of the people who died. Then he turned fifteen, and a good guy asked if he could marry his mom.
At the age of fifteen, he blew up a ship, found out he was probably going to die, said fuck it, got in a fight with Annabeth, visited a woman who did too much cocaine in her teenage years, swam in a river of pain, led a small army to hold the entire island of Manhattan, slowly lost the hold on the entire island of Manhattan, took a bunch of power naps, then finally watched his old enemy kill himself. He turned down godhood, told the gods to pay their fucking child support, then proceeded to make out with Annabeth at the bottom of a lake on his sixteenth birthday.
Not even three months later, he was kidnapped, and was put in a coma for another five months, then forced to go to Alaska, fight a couple of giants, reunite with Annabeth, then go fight more giants, then he fell into hell with his girl, fought his way through hell, then proceeded to do nothing while everyone else found a cure for death, then watched as Mother Earth blew up.
Having been missing for almost a year, he got expelled from yet another school, and started a new one for senior year, despite definitely missing the credits needed to be classified as a senior. On the first day of school, he met with a school counselor, who told him he needed three recommendation letters from the Gods because his dad had sex with his mom.
He got the first one from Ganymede, and the second from Hecate, and now only needed one more. Which is where our story starts, winter of his senior year.
Percy had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still wet and he was missing a shirt as he walked into his bedroom. As soon as he opened the door, he almost jumped out of his skin. Sitting on his bed, back against the headboard, was a Goddess he would never had expected to see in his room. Artemis, Goddess of the Moon.
She was in her usual form, which was weird, cause she only looked twelve. She still had her auburn hair and silver eyes, and was dressed just like her Hunters, silver parka and all. In her hands was a little slip of paper, presumably from the poster his dad had made and posted all over Olympus.
"Lady Artemis." He said, stopping in the doorway.
"Percy Jackson." She greeted him.
"What are you doing here, my lady?"
"I hear you need recommendation letters, and are doing quests to receive them."
"Not because I want to."
"My father's work, I presume."
He nodded. "Because I shouldn't have been born and all that. I highly doubt Jason has to do any of this."
She rolled her eyes. "Leave it to him to play double standards."
"You have a quest for me?"
"I do. I will warn you, it is quite a big one."
"How big?"
"Not even I know. All I know, if you don't succeed, I could die."
Percy's eyes widened. "That's very serious. You sure you don't want someone, I don't know, more qualified to do this?"
She narrowed her eyes. "And who's more qualified than you? Who's proved themself more, done more, than you?"
Percy sighed. "What's the quest?"
"There is this group of people. A cult, really. I have been tracking them for millennia. It seems no matter how many times I eliminate them, they come back with new members. I want you to help me find out why, and put an end to them permanently."
"So, are the members like, monsters, or rogue demigods, or..."
"Their deeds make them monstrous, but, as far as I can tell, they are mortals."
Percy froze. One of the first things he was taught was that mortals were off limits. Celestial Bronze couldn't hurt them for that very purpose. They were technically supposed to protect them. "I can't kill mortals."
"I know, Riptide can't hurt them. Luckily, I have a sword that can."
"No, I mean, I can't kill mortals. I'm not supposed to."
Artemis stood up. "You're going to have to."
"I don't think a college recommendation letter is worth people's lives."
"Percy. If you don't kill them, they'll just continue to wreak havoc on humanity. In the past, they have razed villages and tried to sacrifice people. They claim to work for some deity who has some great plan. We need to stop them."
"We?"
"Yes, we. Why wouldn't I help?"
"Well, usually you Gods... don't." He rubbed his neck shamefully.
Artemis narrowed her eyes.
"So, where is this cult, or do we have to find that out?"
Artemis smiled. "Good news, I already found that out. The idiots have been using the same place as their meeting grounds since they formed. We need to go to Mount Parnassus in Greece.
Percy groaned. "You couldn't have had me do this when I was already in Greece?"
She raised an eyebrow. "When would I have had time to do that? I was stuck on Delos until the fight with the Giants, and then my father slapped you back to Camp Half-Blood."
Artemis hopped off of the bed and walked across the room, past him, and out of the door.
Percy watched her walk away. "Where are you going?"
She turned around. "Come on, we're leaving."
"Now?"
"Yes, now?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I have a test tomorrow in English. I can't just go to Greece."
"Percy."
"I'm not joking. If I fail this test, I can kiss my GPA goodbye, and then all these recommendation letters won't matter."
"Fine. Friday night at sundown. I'll meet you here. Now close your eyes."
He opened them after a bright flash of light, and found that she had left.
LINE BREAK
True to her word, she was waiting for him at sundown Friday night. He had just gotten home from swim practice and a quick stop at Himbo Juice. He placed his smoothie down on his nightstand and collapsed on his bed. He closed his eyes as he laid face down on his pillow. He could feel sleep coming towards him quickly. A quick nap, that's just what he needed.
"Get up, Percy." A voice said.
"Hm?" Percy asked, not moving.
"Get up, Percy. We have a cult to kill."
A pillow hit Percy. He lifted his head up. Artemis was standing there, in an older form he noticed, with a sword in her hand. "Did you just throw a pillow at me?"
A finger on her free hand twitched, and suddenly she was holding another pillow. "Want me to do it again?"
She didn't wait for an answer and threw it at him. He raised his arms, blocking it. The pillow fell to the ground silently. Percy turned his attention to the sword she had in her hand. It was a beautiful sword. A silver longsword a couple of inches longer than Riptide. It seemed to glow with a bluish hue. The hilt was wrapped in fine leather, barely worn. There was a crescent moon on the crossguard. "What's with the sword?" He asked.
"I told you I had a sword for you. This is it." She held it out to him.
He took it from her and was surprised that it felt perfectly balanced. That had been a huge problem for him when he first got to camp, no blade was balanced for him. Only Riptide. He had no idea why this sword broke that trend.
The sword was well taken care of. The blade had been recently polished, as he could see his reflection in it perfectly. As he studied the blade, he saw that it had a word engraved in it. Excalibur. His eyes widened.
"I'm holding Excalibur?!" He asked. "Like, the King Arthur sword?"
She nodded. "Yes, the very same sword Arthur used. In fact, it was I who gave it to him."
"He was real? I thought he was just a story."
"Percy, I'm supposed to be just a story."
Percy paused. "Right. So, you gave Arthur this sword? Did you make it?"
"Hephaestus did. He reforged it out of an old ax I had."
Percy twirled the sword around. "Do you have a sheath or something..."
Artemis held out her hand. In it was a weird tangle of straps and a sheath. He propped the sword against the bed and tried to untangle the straps before putting it on like it was a pair of jeans. He slid Excalibur into the sheathe, but it only served to complicate the process even more.
Artemis chuckled as she watched Percy cluelessly hop around, trying to put the sheath on. "It's like a shirt, Percy. The sheath goes on your back."
"Oh, I knew that." He fixed the sheath, now knowing where it went.. The handle stuck out past his shoulder. He reached back and grasped it before unsheathing it. The tip of the sword dug into the ceiling, leaving a scratch.
"Shit." Percy said. "We're renting."
"I got it." Artemis said, waving her hand. The scratch instantly disappeared. Percy tried to resheathe it but couldn't seem to get the sword in. Artemis stepped forward and helped him out.
"I guess it's a good thing I won't be resheathing it during battle." He commented.
"I guess it is."
"Really though, this thing isn't very practical. I thought for sure you of all the Gods would use practical things."
"Who said I used that?"
Percy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Artemis had parked her chariot on his roof. They climbed out of his window, and climbed up the fire escape towards the roof. Sitting there, in the snow, just as he remembered it from about four years ago, was the Moon. A chariot made of silver, with a couple of dents and dings (that looked suspiciously like the surface of the moon), pulled by eight reindeer.
"No Rudolph?" Percy joked, remembering what she had told him when he first saw it. How hers had been the inspiration behind Santa's sleigh.
She smiled and shook her head. "No Rudolph."
She climbed into the chariot and he followed. Usually in chariots, you stood while you drove it, but Artemis had invested in a cushioned bench. He sat down and looked over the edge as they started to take off into the sky.
Soon enough, they were in the sky, flying through clouds. The moon shone high above them, which didn't make much sense, but whatever. Part of being a demigod was rolling with the punches.
Below them, he watched the sprawl of the city disappear as they soared across the sky. Soon, all that was below them was the ocean. And it was ocean for hours. Percy started to feel himself get antsy. His ADHD did not like this long ride.
"Couldn't you have just flashed us there?" He asked.
"And miss the view?" She retorted, not breaking her line of sight with the horizon.
"It's been the same view for two hours."
"Don't you love the ocean?"
"Not when I'm a mile above it. I'm in the sky, Artemis. Which, by the way, I shouldn't be. This is Zeus's domain."
"You're in my chariot, it's my domain. And I said you can be in it." She took one hand off of the reins and handed something to Percy. "Take this."
Percy looked at the object she had given him. It was a small cube, easily fitting in the palm of his hand. On each side it had a different gimmick. One one, it had a little joystick, another, a kind of gear set you'd see on a combination lock, another had some buttons, another, a d-pad from an xbox controller. It was a fucking fidget cube. Artemis had one hell of a sense of humor.
He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless, he found that the cube actually helped. Another hour passed before he spotted land in the distance. It was another hour before they finally began to descend. They landed in a forest.
Percy and Artemis got out of the chariot. As soon as they got out, the chariot took off back into the sky, to continue the moon's journey around the sky. Artemis took off walking, and Percy followed behind her.
As he walked through these woods, he got a sense of deja vu, like he had been here before. Maybe he had a dream or something. After a couple of minutes of walking, Artemis stopped. Ahead of them was a cave, with some spent torches perched on either side of the entrance.
Artemis frowned. "That's strange, she muttered.
"What's strange?"
She didn't say anything.
"What's strange, Artemis?" he repeated, a little bit of frustration entering his voice.
"Usually the torches are lit. But they aren't. The place also seems dead."
"Are you saying no one is here?"
"I don't know. Let's go."
Artemis walked into the cave, and Percy followed behind her. They walked through the cave, following it towards the large cavern at the end.
"Shit." Artemis muttered.
"What?"
"There should be a sarcophagus, right there." She said, pointing towards the altar.
"There should also be people here, right?"
She looked at him. "Yes, Percy. There should be people here." She said, gritting her teeth. She walked over to the altar and knelt down. She took a long sniff. Percy watched, almost unbelieving what he was seeing. On one hand, it made sense, she was a Hunting Goddess, so she's trying to find the scent to track something down, on the other hand, he was watching someone sniff the fucking ground.
She stood up and walked over to him. "They're in New York."
Percy's brain broke. "You're telling me, we spent four hours in that chariot, only to find out that we were in the same fucking city as them?"
"Let's go." Artemis said, ignoring his jab. She grabbed his shoulder. "We're flashing there, close your eyes."
Percy followed her instructions and closed his eyes. After a bright flash of light and an unsettling feeling in his stomach, he opened his eyes to see a crowded street. Snow was still falling and the air was colder.
Artemis sniffed the air and started walking. Percy followed behind her, trusting her to lead the way. It was kind of funny watching this Goddess sniff the air, tracking scent like a dog. They walked for a while, before ending up at the Yankee Stadium.
"Please tell me they're not in there."
"It's in there." She said. "The Sarcophagus."
"I thought we were going for the people?"
"The Sarcophagus is what the people worship. If we destroy it, we may not need to kill them."
"That'd be good."
"But if they get in our way-"
"Godsdammit."
They walked into the stadium. Percy had never been in a sports stadium outside of games. It was surreal being there while it was empty. His footsteps echoed off of the walls. They made their way through the stadium, going up a flight of stairs.
Percy walked over to a doorway and entered it. He found himself in the bleachers. Out on the field, a large group of people dressed in black robes gathered around a silver sarcophagus. They seemed to be worshiping it, true to Artemis's words.
He walked back over to Artemis, who had stopped and watched him. "They're out there. At least, I think that's them. They certainly look like cultists. They're surrounding the sarcophagus though."
She drew her bow. "It looks like we're going to have to remove them."
"Fuck."
Artemis raced forward, Percy following closely behind, as they tried to find the entrance to the field. They finally found it after a couple of minutes, and stepped out onto the pitch. The Sarcophagus was on the pitcher's mound, with the cultists lined up between the bases.
Artemis pulled her drawstring back, an arrow appearing in her bow. She let go, and the arrow flew, before finding itself in the back of one of the cultists. They fell to the ground dead. His cultmates noticed and turned around. They instantly noticed the intruders and drew their sabres. Percy drew Excalibur, a soft ring cutting through the air as the blade left the sheath.
Percy engaged a couple of cultists as Artemis hung back. She picked off a few of the further ones with arrows before a couple of cultists reached her. She stabbed one with an arrow in the eye before drawing a hunting knife.
Percy blocked the strike of one, before disarming them. He kicked the cultist in the groin. The cultist fell to the ground and Percy moved on to the next one. He tried to avoid killing the humans, opting for incapacitating them or knocking them out.
Artemis had no such qualms. She stabbed one in the throat before kicking one, knocking them over, and stabbing them in the chest. A cultist swung at her with his saber. She blocked the strike, grabbed his arm, broke it, before using his arm to plunge his saber in his own chest.
As Percy fought through the cultists, he felt like the sword was starting to resist him. The sword was getting heavier too. Harder to swing. What was once well balanced, now was just like every other sword he got his hands on. He vaguely noticed that he was getting closer to Artemis, who was getting closer to the sarcophagus.
He parried a cultist's blade, before stabbing them in the chest. It had been a gut reaction, and now his sword was stained red. He pulled the blade out and wiped it off. He looked around and noticed that all of the cultists were either incapacitated or dead. Artemis had reached the Sarcophagus.
He reached her and looked over her shoulder. She was frozen, probably in shock, but maybe also fear. Engraved in the lid, in ancient Greek, was a name. Lelantos.
Percy frowned. He had never heard of them. "Who's Lelantos?"
As soon as he said that, the coffin exploded. Percy and Artemis flew back, landing in the outfield, yards away from the now destroyed sarcophagus. Standing in the remains was a tall man, far taller than him and Artemis, with black hair, tan skin, and shining silver eyes. He looked a lot like Apollo and Artemis.
"He's my uncle." She muttered as she got up. "I thought he faded long ago."
"Aw, dear niece. No, I did not fade. I was close, I was very close. But when I started to whisper in the minds of men, I found that I could survive. Not enough to have a physical form, but enough to not fade. Over millennia I have gained strength, and now, I am back. My dear uncle failed in bringing Humanity to its rightful place, on its knees serving us, but I will not fail."
Percy snorted. "You think you can do a better job at overthrowing humanity than Kronos? The King? The most powerful of you? You're what, a second generation, and a minor titan at that? Good fuckin luck pal. Just go into hiding like Prometheus did, and maybe you could live a peaceful life."
Lelantos raised his hand. Excalibur flew through the air and landed in his hand. "I'm going to have to decline. I'll kill you quickly, don't worry."
'There goes my weapon.' Percy thought, before remembering Lelantos is a Titan, and as such, can be harmed by Celestial Bronze. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide, before uncapping the pen. His sword sprang to life, a three foot long blade made of bronze that seemed to glow with a dim light.
He charged at Lelantos. The Titan raised his free hand and pointed at him. A blast of energy flew from his finger. Percy rolled to the side, dodging the blast. There was a small hole in the grass where he had been a second earlier.
Artemis pulled out her bow and took aim at her Uncle. She fired a couple of arrows, but Lelantos sliced them out of the air. The broken arrows fell to the ground at his feet. It served as a nice distraction as Percy was able to reach the Titan. He swung Riptide, but Lelantos blocked with Excalibur. Percy slid under the blade, trying to get into Lelantos' guard, but the Titan kicked him away.
Percy collapsed on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Lelantos raised Excalibur to kill Percy, but Artemis fired a couple of arrows, bringing the Titan's attention to her. The arrows penetrated his free arm, drawing ichor.
Percy slowly got up as Lelantos marched towards Artemis. She ran to the bleachers and climbed up. She used her new vantage point to fire more arrows. The Titan slashed the arrows out of the air.
Percy ran after Lelantos. He threw Riptide ahead of him. The sword bounced off of the Titan, who whirled around. He stepped over the sword, putting himself between Percy and the sword.
An idea began to form in his mind. It was dangerous, it was stupid, and so much could go wrong. But it was a hell of a lot better than just alternating who the Titan was focusing on killing. Lelantos dropped his sword and charged at Percy. The demigod stood his ground, waiting. At the last possible second, he rolled under between the Titan's legs and came up behind him. Lelantos whirled around and grabbed Percy in a headlock.
As he was lifted into the air, he noticed that Riptide was no longer on the ground. That was good. Lelantos began to suffocate him. That was bad. He desperately reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide. He pointed the pen at Lelantos behind him and uncapped the pen. The Titan dropped him as he screamed in pain.
Percy hit the ground and rolled, absorbing the shock. He got up and saw that Riptide was buried in Lelantos's shoulder. He looked for Artemis and found that she had taken up a spot at the very top of the stadium. She started firing arrows at Lelantos with deadly precision.
His idea had sort of worked. But the longer he fought the Titan, the more he realized his efforts were fruitless. Titan's were immortal. They couldn't be killed. They could be expelled and scattered though. But how did one do that?
'Any ideas on how we can scatter this guy's essence?' He prayed to Artemis, hoping she heard him.
'I have an idea. We need to get him to go into his true form though.'
'How do we do that?'
'Just make him mad. So mad that the only way he can kill you is true form.'
'Isn't a Titan's true form enough to obliterate me, even if I close my eyes?'
'Just trust me.'
'That doesn't sound good, Artemis.'
She didn't respond. Make him mad. He could do that. Pissing off immortals is his special talent. He could win a talent show with that skill.
"Hey Lelantos! Did you almost fade because you're useless?!"
"What?!" Lelantos raised his hand and Excalibur flew back into his hand.
"Or is it because no one knows who you are? Honestly, you're such a bore, I've almost forgotten your name."
"I will crush you!"
"That's fucking basic super villian talk! Get new material!"
"You are going to die!"
"Holy shit, you're basic. Is that what you're the Titan of?!"
Lelantos smiled. "I'm the Titan of the Unseen." And with that, he disappeared.
"Shit." Percy muttered. 'You didn't tell me he could turn invisible.' He prayed to Artemis.
'I forgot he could do that.'
'Just great.'
Percy suddenly felt himself get kicked in the gut. He went flying far into the outfield, landing in the grass. His sword landed a few feet away. He watched as Lelantos revealed himself and slowly walked towards him. He felt fear turn the blood in his veins to ice. He hadn't felt this afraid since the Mansion of Night in Tartarus.
He completely forgot about Artemis, who fired an arrow into his back. He didn't know what she did to the arrow, whether she imbued some kind of divine power into it or something, because Lelantos stumbled forward, falling to a knee. He reached behind him and ripped the arrow out.
Percy took the opportunity to get up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide. He uncapped the pen and swung at Lelantos's neck. The Titan grabbed the blade before it could make contact, and pulled it out of Percy's hands. Percy felt his shoulder dislocate. Red hot pain flared in his shoulder.
He couldn't move it. He started to panic. Lelantos grinned and flipped Riptide, grabbing it by the hilt. He then ran Percy through with the blade.
Percy gasped and let out a breath. He's pretty sure that because he wasn't dead, the sword had missed all vital organs, but the pain was unimaginable. All he could do was lie down and cry. Tears leaked from his eyes as he realized that he was probably going to die.
He was never going to graduate, go to college. He was never going to marry Annabeth, never have kids. He would never see their gray eyes and black hair. He would never grow old. He would die here, in a fucking Yankees stadium. It couldn't even be the Mets. He would die over a fucking Letter of Recomendation, that he only needed because Zeus wanted to be a dick. Gods, his life was fucked. Maybe it wasn't too bad that he was going to die soon.
Lelantos smiled widely. "No comebacks, kid? Cut your tongue?"
"At least I don't have to see your ugly mug." Percy groaned.
Lelantos shook his head and turned around to face Artemis, who fired arrow after arrow at him. He ran at her and began to climb towards the roof of the press box. All Percy could do was watch as blood leaked from his gut.
Lelantos reached the roof. After what happened next, Percy found a new favorite Goddess. Artemis spartan kicked Lelantos off of the roof. The Titan fell, landing in the bleachers below, crashing into them.
Lelantos began to glow. The light was so intense, Percy had to look away. He looked up to see Artemis fire an arrow that seemed to glow almost as intensely. The arrow met Lelantos.
The resulting explosion decimated the stadium. All that remained of the bleachers and press box was rubble. Fires raged. The shockwave floored Percy, pushing him, and subsequently, the sword, further into the dirt. He was pinned now. He could feel his strength leaving fast. He would be dead in minutes.
A silhouette walked towards him. They stepped through the fire, which illuminated her enough to see it was Artemis. Her auburn hair seemed to glow in the red light of the flames, which made her hair look like it was on fire. Her silver eyes glowed brightly. She looked like a Goddess.
"Percy!" She ran towards him and knelt down. She saw the sword in his gut and paled. "You're going to be okay. C'mon on."
She picked him up and put his arm around her shoulder. Together, they stumbled out of the ruins. But Percy was getting weaker. Dark spots were appearing in his vision. He knew. He knew from the moment he was stabbed. Every demigod knew. Some day, you were going to meet a monster you just couldn't defeat.
He closed his eyes and collapsed. The Ferryman awaited.
LINE BREAK
Percy had been to the Underworld before. He had talked to Charon and got him to take him and his friends to the Underworld. So he knew what to expect.
Which is why he knew he wasn't in the Underworld. No, the Underworld wasn't a small room made of wood. It wasn't a soft bed. Maybe if you achieved Elysium it was, but he was sure he wouldn't make it.
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that Annabeth was sitting next to him, passed out, grasping his hand. Then he felt the pain. Another point in the 'Not the Underworld' column. There was a sharp pain in his abdomen. As he sat up, the pain got worse until he stopped. The covers fell, revealing that he was bare chested, with linen wrapping around his stomach.
The movement startled Annabeth, who shot up, quick as a bullet. Her blond hair was messy, there were bags under her eyes. She eyed him warily.
"You look like shit." Percy said.
Annabeth let out a burst of laughter that sounded like she was hiding tears. She wrapped her arms around him. "You're one to talk." She muttered into his neck.
She withdrew and handed him a tall glass of nectar. "Drink some."
Percy did so, the nectar tasting like chocolate chip cookies. Warmth flew through his body. The pain in his gut subsided.
"You should also put this on." Annabeth said, handing him a shirt. A clean one, without blood and a hole in the shape of a blade. "I stopped by your mom's apartment and picked up a shirt after telling her what happened."
Percy blood froze. He completely forgot about his mom. Oh Gods, she was going to murder him. It wouldn't even be that hard now. Recovering injury and all. He put the shirt on.
"You can come in now!" Annabeth yelled at the door.
Percy braced himself for his mother. The woman who came through the door was not his mother, but Artemis. "Glad to see you're awake. You gave us a scare."
"What are you doing here?" It wasn't accusatory, more of surprise.
"I wanted to give you this. I know Hecate and Ganymede gave you Do It Yourself ones, but I wrote it, and figured I'd give it to you in person." She handed him an envelope. "I also wanted to thank you. WIthout you, I'd still be hunting down that stupid cult, and Lelantos would still be whispering in the minds of men."
"All in a days work." He said, grinning.
"It's going to be a sad day when you die, Percy. But it's not today."
"Thanks?" Percy figured it was a compliment.
She walked out of the room. Percy looked at the envelope and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper folded three times. He unfolded it and saw that it was a Letter of Recommendation. Typed, no less.
Dear New Rome University's Admission's Office,
Perseus 'Percy' Jackson is an extraordinary person who deserves every chance he gets. Including, but not limited to, admission to New Rome University.
I first met Percy when he was thirteen, ready to throw himself off of a cliff for his friend. He proceeded to sneak onto a quest to rescue her from Kronos, the chances of death be damned. In doing so, he also helped me. He impressed me with his humility, recognizing he couldn't take Atlas, and taking the sky from me to let me do it. It was after this encounter that I knew that there was something special about him.
The next time I saw him, he impressed me even more by turning down Godhood. It was a gift I was fully supporting, after all, if anyone deserved it, it was he. But he declined, and asked for something that again, surprised me. He asked for the Gods to pay more attention to their children.
I came to him with a problem that I had been facing for millenia now. Not only did he agree to help me, but when push came to shove, he didn't run. He faced the odds and even faced death with a dignity lacking of most.
Percy Jackson is a hero in every sense of the word. He is constantly putting others before himself, including strangers he knows nothing about. He constantly takes the burdens of the world on his shoulders, and while he may complain, he won't give it to someone else.
Percy Jackson is a friend to many, and even I call him one. If anyone deserves admission, it would be him. I hope you consider him, because anyone can see that he would more than fit in, and would prove to be very valuable to your university.
Phoebe Artemis
Olympian Goddess of the Moon, Hunting, Archery, Animals, Wilderness, Childbirth and Maidens
Olympus
20 W 34th Street, New York, NY 10001, 600th Floor
Underneath was her signature, which was both simplistic and elegant. He folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. He looked at Annabeth, his eyes misty.
"What's wrong?" She asked him.
"Nothing." He shook his head, before smiling. "We're going to College."
LINE BREAK
Percy graduated. He walked across the stage in his blue cap and gown. He had no cords, no stoles, but he stood up the straightest when they called his name. The cheering in the crowd might have been from four people, but it was the loudest. Afterwards, his mom took pictures with her old polaroid camera, and gave it to him
From there, he went to New Rome and graduated with a bachelors in Marine Biology. Annabeth would graduate a couple years later with a Doctorate in Architecture. The name might've said Doctor Annabeth Jackson, but it's okay. They'd fix that next year.
They got married at thirty. He had proposed five years earlier, but Annabeth wanted to focus on her Doctorate first. The wedding was small, only family and close friends. A few Gods made appearances, with Chiron officiating. (He had burst into tears at being asked. He had to get registered, but he did so immediately.)
They waited to have kids. They enjoyed their time to themselves, going on vacations, seeing the world without a huge threat hanging over their heads.
When they finally had kids, they knew instantly that they could never treat them like their parents did them. They supported their kids in everything and provided them with all the guidance they needed. They had a son and daughter, who took after their father and mother respectively.
Percy's mom died. She had reached the age of 65. The funeral was somber. He and Annabeth, as well as their kids attended. Percy grieved with his sister, Estelle.
Percy watched as his kids grew up to be fantastic humans. They were amazing. His son grew up to be a Marine Biologist like his father, and his daughter became a physics professor at New Rome University.
Percy grew old. He had a vision when he was younger, when he was wrestling Geras, of him, Annabeth, and Grover sitting on a park bench. He found himself living that vision. He had gray hair, his joints were creaking. It was when he was sitting on this bench that he realized that he made it. He broke the mold. He began to cry.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing. It's just, we did it. We're old now. We didn't die young. All that shit we went though, and..." He sniffed. "Just, we did it."
She grabbed his hand. "We did it. We made it."
Annabeth died soon after. So did Grover. He was the only one left. He was seventy one and he sat on his porch, a photo album on his lap. Inside were a bunch of polaroids that he had taken over the year.
There were a bunch of pictures from graduation. He was dressed in his cap and gown. There was a picture where Annabeth was kissing him on the cheek. There was one where he had his arms thrown over the shoulders of Grover and Annabeth. There was another of just him and his mom.
There were pictures of when he was in college. Selfies of him in his and Annabeth's dorm. Pictures of Annabeth napping, head using an open textbook as a pillow. There was a picture of them in the meal hall, looking at the shitty food they had. There were pictures of them on dates in the quad, and pictures of them at a party.
There were pictures of their wedding. Annabeth looked absolutely stunning in her bridal dress. Pictures of them cutting their cake, dancing, and just the reception in general.
There were pictures of their vacations. Greece, Italy, Norway, even Antarctica. Pictures of them at famous landmarks, with Annabeth explaining the architecture behind them with passion shining in her eyes. There were pictures of him, talking to penguins and various sea life.
There were pictures of his kids during their births. So small and fragile. Pictures of him holding them, as well as Annabeth. Pictures of his mom holding them, as well as Paul. Pictures of their Uncle Grover holding them too.
Percy flipped through the photo album, reliving each picture. Watching his kids grow up again.
Someone sat down next to him as he reached the end of the album.
"Is it time?" Percy asked.
"It was technically your time a couple of minutes ago, but I wanted you to finish your album." Thanatos said.
"Thank you."
"Least I could do for you. You saved me, the Gods, and the world countless times. How do you feel?"
Percy sighed. "I'm ready to see my friends again."
"You're an enigma. You know that?"
"So I've been told."
"You're going to be a myth some day. You can count on that. The myth of Percy Jackson, a hero even greater than Heracles himself."
"I doubt that."
"I'll just have to let you know then, huh?"
"I guess so."
Thanatos stood up and reached out his hand. Percy took it. As he stood up, he looked down at his chair, where his lifeless body still sat. "That's weird to look at."
"A peaceful death. A rarity for your kind."
"I guess Mom named me right after all."
"She did, Perseus. She sure did."
Thanatos took Percy to Los Angeles, to DOA records. "This is where I leave you. I bet you know what to do from here. After all, you've done it before." He chuckled.
"Thank you, Lord Thanatos." Percy said, bowing.
He walked into the building. As he did so, Charon's eyes settled on him. He looked a little different than the last time he saw him, but he was a God, so appearance changes were normal for him. He looked a lot like Lance Reddick. He was still wearing his Italian suit, a different one this time.
Percy approached the front desk. "I'm sorry Charon. I don't have any drachma on me this time. How long will it be?"
"Motherfucker, get in the elevator." Charon said, laughing.
"Really? But I didn't pay you."
"Perseus, you more than paid me when you brought up my pay raise to Hades. Besides, it wouldn't be right for me to leave the Hero of Olympus on the wrong side of the Styx, now would it?"
"You don't have to do that. I can wait like everyone else."
"Trust me kid. Just get in the elevator."
Percy got in the elevator. He was the only one in it.
"I'm off!" Charon yelled at the shades in the room. "And if anyone changes the music off my easy listening station, I'll make sure you wait for another thousand years!"
Charon entered the elevator and pressed one of the two floor buttons. The one labeled down. The elevator descended before slowly moving forward. A haze filled the elevator as it turned into a small wooden barge.
"How was your life, young one?"
"Better than most, I suppose."
"I'd expect nothing less. How does it feel to be down here and actually be dead?"
"It... It feels like I belong."
"Attaboy."
Charon rowed him down the rest of the way down the Styx. As Percy gazed at the black current, he remembered how he swam in it once. And how it was Annabeth who pulled him out. It was strange that he had memories of the Underworld. Most people's first time experiencing it was in death. His was when he was twelve.
They reached the shore and Percy stepped off of the boat. His feet met the black sand. He realized that he was barefoot now, and he was wearing a black robe. His skin was still wrinkly and shriveled.
He joined the long line that sprawled from the Gates. The Gates that looked like airport security mixed with a tollbooth. He considered joining the EZ Death Line, but he decided he wanted to know what he earned. If he earned Punishment, who was he to get out of it?
It took an eternity to reach the Gates. But Percy didn't care, he had nothing but time. When he finally made it, he faced the skeleton security guard. The skeleton pushed a button and motioned for him to move along.
Percy followed the line to the Judgement Pavilion. It came to his turn, he entered the pavilion, and saw that the three judges weren't there. Instead, sitting at the table in the middle seat was his Uncle, Lord of the Underworld, Hades.
Sitting on the table in front of him was a stack of paperwork. He was writing something down on the last page. He finished and flipped the papers back over. He looked up. "Are you just going to stand there, nephew?"
Percy approached the table. Hades handed him the paperwork. "Congratulations, Perseus Jackson. You would have earned Elysium, but it seems this is your third time. Enjoy Isles of the Blest." He said it with a deadpan expression, so it was hard to tell whether he really meant it or not. "Give this to Victor at the Gates of Elysium. He will escort you to the Isles."
Percy took the paperwork and walked out of the pavilion. If his heart still beat, he was sure it would have stopped at that very moment. As he looked down at the paperwork, he noticed the first paper was really old. It was on old papyrus, any older and it'd be carved on a stone tablet. The name at the top read 'Perseus'. No last name. Next to it was a picture of someone who looked just like him. Below that read "Verdict: Elysium" with Judges notes underneath.
The next page was on a considerably new paper. The name at the top read 'Arthur Pendragon'. The picture showed a white, long blond haired, blue eyed man. He wore a crown. Again, the verdict was Elysium. The last paper had the name 'Perseus Jackson' on the top, with a picture of him in his teens. The verdict? As Hades said, "Isles of the Blest".
When he was twelve, he went to the Underworld. He had looked at the Isles. He recognized how hard it would be to achieve it, but he wanted to. And he had.
He reached the Gates of Elysium. A zombie stood there, dressed in a tuxedo, looking like a Hotel's Bellhop from the movies. His name tag read 'VICTOR'. He groaned and held out his hand. Percy handed him the paperwork. The zombie flipped through it and nodded. He lazily motioned for Percy to follow him.
Victor led Percy through the streets of Elysium. Crowds gathered to watch him. He guessed they knew he was going to the Isles, and since it didn't happen often, it was a huge celebration when someone did. In the crowd, he thought he saw Beckendorf and Silena, and over there was Michael Yew. Suddenly a thought hit him and his blood froze like it did so long ago in the Yankee Stadium. Had Annabeth made Elysium? He didn't see her anywhere.
Isles of the Blest no longer seemed like paradise. Not if Annabeth wasn't going to be there. But he had been judged, he had no choice. Paradise wasn't going to be paradise, and there was nothing he could do. He'd rather go to the Fields of Punishment if it meant he got to see her.
They reached a dock where a motorboat was parked. Victor got in and waited for Percy. The dead demigod stepped in the boat and sat down. They took off towards the three islands. They looked small from the distance, but as they got closer, he realized they were absolutely massive. There were white sandy beaches with crystal clear water, forests untouched by human kind, and a village on the coast.
As they got closer, Percy started to feel younger. He looked at the water and realized that was because he was younger. Looking back at him was him, age twenty one. Gone was his gray hair and wrinkles. Another thing that had changed were his robes, now he was wearing a white chiton with a golden clasp on his shoulder.
The motorboat reached one of the islands. Victor motioned for Percy to get off. Percy stepped foot on the beach. The sand was warm, but not hot. His feet were barefoot, allowing him to feel every grain of sand. He turned around to see Victor speeding away. He sighed and decided to try to at least enjoy the Isles.
He walked towards the seaside village. Part of it was over the water, supported by wooden beams. He walked up the stairs to the village and looked around. There were bridges to every house and market stand.
He walked down one of the paths, and looked around. Someone saw him and walked up to him. "Hello." She said. "Are you a new arrival?"
"Yeah, I just got here."
"That's great. Let me tell you, congratulations! We're glad to have you with us! I'll get started on finding you a home soon. Shouldn't be too hard. We have a bunch of vacant properties here."
"Hey, uh, who was the last person to get here?"
The woman thought for a second. "Oh! That Anne something! I forgot her last name. She hasn't been out much, kinda mopey."
"Anne? Annabeth?" He asked cautiously.
The woman snapped. "Annabeth, that was her name! Why?"
"Can you take me to her?"
"Of course. I don't know if she'll want to see you though."
The woman took back down the path he came. She reached a house and motioned to it. "She lives here. Again, she might not be the nicest to you, considering that's trespassing and all."
Percy shook her off and entered the house. The inside was decorated like a typical beach house. It was an open floor plan, allowing him to see most of the downstairs. There was a living room as soon as you walked in that led to a kitchen. In the kitchen was a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony. The balcony had a table with an umbrella. Sitting at that table was a woman his age, wearing the same thing as him. She was tan, with honey blond hair, curled like a princess. She was facing away from him, but he was willing to bet that she had gray eyes.
He walked through the house, heading towards the balcony. He slid the door open and stepped out.
The woman didn't look back. "Get out."
He knew that voice. It confirmed his suspicions. It was Annabeth.
"Are you sure you want me to?" He asked, a smile pulling on his lips.
She quickly spun around. She eyed him warily before lunging forward and wrapping him in a hug, crashing her lips on his. As they kissed, Percy only had one thought.
Paradise, at long last.