A/N: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

The obvious quote was from Napoleon Dynamite. "Tina, you fat lard," yeah?

The not-obvious quote was from Rugrats Rule 34 Demo Disk. "I say, we put a couple accelerators on the corkscrew. Why not?" "Why not?" "What's the worst that could happen? Couple kids fall off the coaster?"

Wow, look at that word count.

Disclaimer: This is a fan-made work using characters and settings primarily from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" by Rick Riordan. This work is not intended to infringe on the copyright of any existing work.

16: One is Left

"Well," Percy started to say. "Let's go get mauled by a boar, shall we?"

"We shall," Zoë agreed.

Percy Jackson headed to the grocery store for some apples and sugar cubes, while Zoë Nightshade put Chloe Nightshade, her new tabby kitten with tiger stripes, into her poofy lion-fur hood and headed to the coffee shop down Main Street.

"After this, you should be able to go home, Blackjack."

Home? Yeah, that sounds good. Home.

After Percy fed Blackjack, he made his way to Zoë in the coffee shop, who handed him a steaming cup of joe. Percy felt like crying as he wordlessly took the ceramic mug.

It might not have seemed like anything important, but Percy felt like it was. Zoë had been making a point to never do anything nice for Percy, ever. Ever since he dissed her kitty accidentally, he had officially been on her shit-list.

Okay, so maybe it was because he freaked her out by proclaiming his undying love for her, which was understandable, since she spent the last who-knows-how-many thousands of years hating men and all they stood for.

But it was probably also because he called her cat 'damned.'

Anyway, in the last sixteen hours of almost continuous flying, Zoë had made a point of not helping him in any way. Sure, they spoke like normal. She wasn't mean to him, nor did she avoid answering his questions—not any more than normal, anyway—and didn't do anything that would overtly show how upset she was. But he could tell.

He could tell, because her responses to his questions were overly polite, she insisted on referring to her cat as Chloe Nightshade instead of just Chloe, and she never brought up any topic of conversation. Not even once. In sixteen hours. She spoke to her cat, though, plenty, and Percy still wasn't even sure that cat could understand a word she said.

But there was one way he knew she was still upset, because it was something he'd learned about from Grover in his original go-round.

Zoë Nightshade gets really old-timey when she's upset. She always talks a little bit old-timey, but she knows most of the rules of modern English. She uses 'thee' and 'thy' instead of 'you' and 'your,' but usually it's just at the end of a sentence. Her speech only really regresses when she's too upset to think about it.

For example, just a few hours ago, he had asked, "What should we do first when we get to Cloudcroft?"

If she wasn't mad at him, she would've said something like this: "You should purchase food for thy Pegasus, and I shall purchase coffee in an attempt to summon Pan's attention."

However, what she actually said was this: "Thou shalt acquire nourishment for thy steed, whilst I negotiate the vending of the brew of the roasted dried seeds of the Coffea arabica plant in a bid for the gaze of the Wild."

Yeah, she was definitely still angry about that whole "I love you" thing he said. And not just normal angry. She was turning-coffee-into-twelve-words angry.

Which was why he was so surprised she bought him a cup of the stuff.

His excitement was tamped, though, when she regarded him coldly and said, "This is for Grover. Thou shalt be he in this moment."

"Oh," Percy said as he visibly deflated. "Okay."

He didn't understand why at first, but this seemed to make Zoë even more upset. "Hath thee no brain within thy skull, Perseus?! Never!"

They both knew very well what she meant by "never."

"Yeah, I know, Zoë. I get it," Percy told her, trying to keep the bitterness from seeping into his voice.

"Dost thee?" Zoë asked quietly, though her use of 'dost' instead of 'do' indicated she was still upset. "If that be so, wherefore art thou still pained when the truth is brought to mind?"

Percy looked up at the ceiling tiles. "Because love is pain, Zoë. I envy you for not having it."

If Zoë had been holding a paper cup instead of a ceramic mug, she would have burnt her hands just then.

After fifteen minutes just sitting at a tiny little table for two, sipping coffee, nothing seemed to be happening. Percy was about to suggest they leave, but the owner—a pretty blonde lady in her thirties—came over to their table, first.

"I really hate to ask this," the lady began. "But do you think you and your girlfriend are almost finished? We're closing up shop."

Percy looked at his shield watch. 8:33 PM.

He didn't bother correcting the lady in an overt way. He just gulped down the last dregs of his coffee and stood up. "Sorry about that, ma'am. We'll be outta your hair in a second, once my friend finishes up."

The lady blinked in surprise—the boy had a totally different accent than the girl. "Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Percy gave her a smile. "New York City, ma'am."

"Oh, really?" she asked. "I'd never have guessed. A true blue Yankee, in my little shop. It seems the famous New Yorker accent we hear about isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Percy laughed, before switching his accent to full blast. "Aw, I would'n say, dat, ma'am. I jist learned pretty quick folk don' take ya too serious if ya soun' like dis."

"Oh, my!" the woman exclaimed as she covered the top of her ample chest with her dainty hand. "Now, that is impressive."

Noticing Zoë had finished her coffee, Percy turned his accent back off and said, "Thank you so much, ma'am. I think we're taking off, now."

As he opened the door for Zoë, he called out, "And thanks for da cawfee, ma'am. It was perfect!"

It seemed Zoë was back to not speaking to him. Great.

"So, seems like no blessing of the wild, then," Percy offered.

"Hm." Zoë made her noise that could mean anything.

Percy whistled for Blackjack.

"Sorry about this buddy. We got just one more state to go, then you can head home, alright?"

Don't… worry about me, Boss… I could fight an army! Huff, huff…

"Sure you could," Percy muttered, but got on anyway.

A grueling, silent 10 hour flight later, they had arrived in Gila Claw, Arizona. AKA the asscrack of the USA. AKA the Junkyard of the Gods.

"Alright, I'm serious this time, Blackjack. Go home. Take it easy. The Stolls will, ahem, buy you some donuts. Chiron will give you plenty of hay. Don't push yourself."

Okay, Boss. I can handle that.

Blackjack flew away, and then it was just Percy and Zoë.

Chloe mewed loudly as she woke up from a cat nap.

Okay, it was just Percy, Zoë, and Chloe.

"Do we wait for Aphrodite, or just go now?" Percy asked.

Zoë said, "You are not on this quest to save Annabeth, so why would that insufferable woman show up here?"

Percy gave her a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"

Zoë pursed her lips and said, "Oh."

Turned out they didn't have to wait very long, as the pure white limo Percy remembered pulled to a silent stop in front of them not twenty seconds later.

Percy drew his sword before Ares stepped out, and when the god did, he just chuckled and snapped his fingers, forcing Percy to drop the weapon—though he felt like he almost held on to it this time.

Ares looked at Zoë, then back at Percy. He taunted, "Where'd your sword go, punk? You got no chance during our rematch with that piddling thing you've got now."

Percy taunted back, "How's that eye holding up, Lord Ares? I can't quite see past those douchebag glasses of yours, but it looks like I didn't leave a scar—that's good. I'd hate to upset your lady friends."

Ares growled before he chuckled. "Good one, Jackson. Now get in, before I start getting pissed off."

Turns out, Ares will hate you significantly less if you don't 'cheat' during a fight with him. And if Ares doesn't hate you as much, he won't curse your sword-arm to fail you when you need it most.

As Percy climbed in the limousine, Ares turned to Zoë. After the door shut, the god of war spat, "Get out of my sight, Titan-spawn."

Zoë grit her teeth as she left for the taqueria that was still closed. She spat back with just as much venom, "Of course, Lord Ares."

When Percy got in the limo, he did a double take.

"Oh, there you are, Percy," Aphrodite said charmingly. "I am Aphrodite."

When Percy didn't respond, she tried to hand him a large polished mirror and said, "Be a dear and hold this, please."

Percy didn't move a muscle. He blinked a couple times, then a couple more times, before saying, "Can you not turn that off or are you just messing with me?"

Aphrodite blinked coquettishly and Percy recoiled in horror. "Turn what off, sweetie-pie?"

Percy's eye twitched. "You look like a clone of Zoë. You're wearing exactly the same clothes she has on right now. You're speaking with her voice. You're identical."

Aphrodite—who still looked identical to Zoë—brought her hands together as she sighed, "Oh, how romantic! Such devotion, Percy, dear. Oh, how I wish my daughters could break the heart of a man as loyal as you!"

Percy was slowly losing control of his facial muscles as he struggled not to deck a goddess. He managed to force out a, "So, is that a no, then?"

Aphrodite laughed sweetly, and Percy almost lost it. "Of course not—I could choose any form I wish. I like taking this one, though. It morphs to form your heart's desire. Isn't that just darling?"

Percy felt like he was on fire. "It's really, really not."

Aphrodite had the audacity to imitate Zoë's special noise that could mean anything, and Percy swore he was two seconds from strangling the goddess of love and beauty. "Hm."

Percy tried to close his eyes, but found that it was almost impossible. The harder he tried to close them, or look away, the more the desire to do the opposite grew.

"You should stop resisting, dear. You're only making it more and more painful for yourself."

Percy was slowly losing his mind.

"The more you try to ignore love, the more you'll wish to seek it out, darling. And I am love. You can't win this fight."

Percy grit his teeth, biting out, "But I have to try!"

Aphrodite blinked innocently. "For who?"

"You know damn well who! For her!"

Aphrodite held her arms up to make an 'X' shape. "Bzzz! Wrong!"

Percy tried to ask "What?" but he was scared that if he opened his mouth, he would say something very different.

"Your problem is you always think of the one you love first. But that's not right," the goddess whined like a schoolgirl. "Love is selfish. Haven't you ever heard that the heart wants what the heart wants? The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be happy!"

"Ha...ppy?" Percy grit out.

Aphrodite clapped happily and smiled at him using Zoë's body. If she did that a couple more times…

"Bingo! Happy! Love is pain, Percy. Endless love is endless pain."

Percy's flushed face turned sheet white in an instant, but Aphrodite pretended not to notice.

"The sooner you learn to let love in, the sooner you can turn that endless pain into endless joy! Doesn't that sound great?"

Percy choked out, "Why are you… torturing me?!"

"It's only torture because you won't let yourself enjoy it, Percy baby."

The goddess licked her lips seductively, and Percy instantly developed a situation.

"You know, I love a man like you," Aphrodite whispered sexily.

"This is insane!" Percy whispered back.

"I do so love a man who's so, so very loyal to his one and only," Aphrodite said cravenly, Zoë's lion fur cloak falling off her shoulders as she slowly leaned toward him.

"What is wrong with you?!" Percy whispered loudly in desperation.

As Aphrodite relieved herself of the Huntress parka she had on, Percy couldn't help but see there was just a plain white undershirt on her chest. Zoë's chest. "When I break them, they feel so horrible. How could they betray their loves?"

Percy tried to tear his eyes away, thrashing wildly as Aphrodite closed in on him. He had no choice but to stare in horror as Aphrodite removed Zoë's undershirt slowly.

Only to reveal a chest wrapping—a long strip of cloth wrapped around her breasts, constricting them and keeping them from moving.

Percy felt like he would be scarred for life as Aphrodite 'inspected' herself. "My, she keeps this wound so very tight. I hadn't noticed. If I just… "

As Aphrodite began looking for the means to unbind her chest, Percy finally broke out of her control, pushing the goddess away from him as he screamed, "STOP!"

He felt like he used all his strength to push her, but she seemed to have traveled all of twelve inches away.

Suddenly, Aphrodite was fully clothed, just like the original had been. A red satin dress adorning her body and beautifully curled ringlets flowing from her head. She looked kind of like Zoë, but also kind of like Annabeth when she was grown up more, and a lot like the pretty blonde coffee shop lady with the massive chest. She was morphing constantly, just like he remembered.

Aphrodite clapped happily with her dainty, slender hands, giving Percy a tiny round of applause.

"Well done, Percy!" she cheered happily, her voice once again the one he remembered, and not Zoë's. "I knew you could do it!"

Percy breathed heavily, and his powerful heart beat in his chest as slowly as ever, but felt like it might break his ribs with how strongly it did so. "What… was that?"

"That was just a little test, Percy," Aphrodite explained happily. "To measure your strength. Love isn't all about giving in to temptation, you know. It can bring the strongest warrior to his knees in an instant."

"Like… Ares?" Percy asked, still recovering from his trauma.

Aphrodite made a disgusted face when he said that, and Percy wanted to tell her to stop, because she looked so much prettier when she was smiling.

He didn't, but he really wanted to.

"Ew, no!" Aphrodite squeaked cutely. "I said the strongest warrior. Not… that buffoon outside."

Percy frowned. "You… don't like Ares?"

She cringed again when she heard his name. She sighed, and said, "Even I was young and foolish, once, Percy. Many things have changed, over the years, but this is just the way things are."

Percy blinked. "But what about… the waterpark?"

Aphrodite pushawed and said, "Just a little illusion. That simpleton is so pathetically weak, and growing weaker all the time. My husband and I have great fun catching him in the same traps as always."

Percy was blown away by what he was hearing. "You and Hephaestus? But he's…"

"Ugly?" Aphrodite supplied with a laugh. "Or crippled? He's a god, Percy. He only appears that way because that is how people perceive him. He can take any form he chooses. And my, is he strapping."

"So he isn't crippled and ugly and that's why you sleep with Ares instead of him?"

Aphrodite looked hurt. "Of course not. Besides… You know better than to think love is only skin deep. Or was it not you who only fell more in love with that Zoë Nightshade when she started getting less attractive, because of the pain she was in?"

Percy thought about that time at camp when Zoë had started looking sickly, unkempt, with giant eye bags and only a tinge of moonglow. About how he got more attached to her after that.

"Yeah, that was me, alright," he yielded.

"I thought so," Aphrodite said with an adorable tone. "Now, I came here for a reason, Percy."

Percy looked expectantly at her.

"I want you to be my champion."

Percy just kept looking at her.

"Okay, that's not really a thing," Aphrodite admitted. "But I do want you to do something for me, and that's why I tested you."

Percy muttered, "Why am I not surprised?"

Aphrodite covered her mouth with one perfectly manicured hand and laughed softly, "Hoh hoh, how cute. Getting used to it already."

Percy said something kind of stupid then. Because however old he was, he would always be Percy, stupid, impulsive, Jackson.

"You laugh exactly the same way Artemis does."

Aphrodite hmphed childishly and turned her head to the side, which reminded Percy a lot of Zoë after the 'damned cat' business. "I wasn't aware that boring woman even had a sense of humor."

Turning back to Percy, she continued, "What I'd like for you to do is very simple. I'm sure you'll have a blast."

Uh-oh. Whenever a higher being thought something was 'very simple,' it nearly always involved mortal danger.

"I want you to seduce Zoë, for me."

Yeah, that would definitely involve mortal danger.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Percy deadpanned.

"No, I couldn't be more serious, believe me. There is a connection between you two. I've watched it grow! When you left your little Camp, it was thin and wispy, barely there, but now it's immense!"

Percy raised his eyebrows and Aphrodite corrected herself. "Okay, it's not immense. But it's bigger! It's visible now. You've got a chance! I've lured Huntresses away before, but they were all small potatoes. Zoë Nightshade is the big fish, you understand, Percy?"

"No, absolutely not. I won't take her away from her family like that," Percy denied, after only the slightest hesitation.

Aphrodite waggled her perfect finger entrancingly. "But then you and she can begin a new family, can't you?"

Percy growled. She knew exactly what he wanted, didn't she? "That's not the same."

Aphrodite nodded. "You're right. It's better."

Percy's eyes glazed over as the goddess forced images of his and Zoë's family into his head. Little black-haired, mixed-race kids, running around shooting blasts of water at each other as Zoë and he chased after them. Helping them with their homework. Watching Lily grow up. All with a certain tabby cat with tiger stripes lurking in the shadows. Finally, he saw himself teaching all his children everything he wished his dad was around to teach him.

He shook his head and blinked the beautiful, wonderful, amazing, and absolutely soul-crushing images away, his eyes un-glazing.

"No," he said forcefully.

Aphrodite gave him her best puppy-dog stare, and she slowly started looking more and more like Zoë. "Aw, pretty please? I'll give you anything you want. A kiss? Two kisses? Maybe even… more?"

"I said no!"

Aphrodite huffed. "Oh, pooh! You're no fun. Perfect for a Huntress. Say, if you get with Zoë, maybe I'll even help hook you up with Artemis herself!"

Percy looked around, waiting to get blown out of existence, before he remembered he was in a goddess's car, and Artemis was currently indisposed. Still, he firmly said, "Take all the 'no's I've said before, put them all together, and then multiply that by infinity. That's approaching the level of 'no' I'm giving you for that idea."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, puh-lease! I know you hero types. You can't help but proclaim your undying love for your one and only, but I know, deep down, you sometimes think about what it would be like."

Her tone grew husky, and Percy started having a situation again. "You all dream about being the man to break in the virgin goddess. To have her waiting on you, hand and foot, servicing you on her knees like a lapdog, licking and—"

"I'm just gonna go, then!" Percy declared, interrupting the bizarre dirty talk Aphrodite was descending into.

"No, wait!" Aphrodite cried. "I—"

"If you say 'I wasn't finished' then I'm really leaving," Percy announced.

Aphrodite blinked innocently. "But I wasn't…"

As Percy reached for the handle, Aphrodite pulled him away. "Just a little joke, Percy. I do have something else to say."

"What is it?" Percy asked impatiently, trying his best not to be too short with the goddess. If he was soaked in any more love aura, he swore he was gonna tear off that tease's clothes with his teeth like a starving wolf, pin her arms down over her head so she couldn't move, and shove his—

"I'd like that, but we haven't got the time. As I was saying, be careful in this place, Percy," Aphrodite advised, like she was reading his mind. "Everything in that pile of trash is there for a reason. Some for better reasons than others, but everything in there was thrown away. Do remember that."

Percy sighed, calming himself down. "Alright. Thank you very much, Lady Aphrodite. Is that all?"

Aphrodite tilted her pretty little head.

"Did you want more?" she asked innocently, sliding the left strap of her dress down over her shoulder as she said it.

Percy shook his head wildly. "No, that was more than enough, thank you very much!"

Aphrodite slid the strap back into place. "Have it your way."

As Percy reached for the handle to leave, she added, "Oh, and Percy? Do try to have fun, dear. That's what love is all about."

Percy didn't answer as he got out of the limo. That had been a trying experience, and he was worried if he spent another ten seconds answering her that he'd never want to leave.

Ares regarded him as he came out of the limo. "Get lost, kid. And don't get killed before our rematch."

Percy didn't have a chance to say a word as Ares snapped his fingers, which made the world spin like it was tossed into a dryer at the laundromat. Percy managed to stay standing, but just barely.

In an instant, the entire town of Gila Claw was gone, leaving only the endless Junkyard of the Gods.

Zoë walked over to the still dazed Percy and handed him his sword. He thanked her and sheathed it.

"What did the goddess say to thee?" Zoë asked.

Percy flashed back.

"Endless love is endless pain."

The visions of his future with Zoë.

Her attempt to seduce him while wearing Zoë's body, voice, and clothes.

Her various attempts to tease him.

Her request for him to seduce Zoë.

Percy blinked. "Not much. She just said everything in the junkyard was thrown away. She really emphasized the word 'everything.'"

Zoë stared at him, and Chloe popped up under her chin.

"Mew."

"Exactly. You were inside the goddess of love's car for an entire hour, Perseus," Zoë explained suspiciously.

Percy rolled his eyes. "What, you think I had limo sex with Aphrodite while her paramour stood three feet away?"

"Perhaps," Zoë admitted, and it didn't sound much like a joke.

"Well, I didn't," Percy confirmed.

"Then what did thee do for an hour?" Zoë asked.

"She said a bunch of stuff about love, okay? She wanted to cut me a deal to… to seduce you."

Zoë nodded, like she expected that. "In return for what?"

Percy shuddered. He explained bitterly, "Nothing I wanted."

Zoë's eyes flashed dangerously. "And that is the reason for thy rejection?"

"Of course, not!" Percy denied, a bit too forcefully. "Is that supposed to be a joke, Zoë? I'm not going to hurt you, period."

Zoë shook her head. "You have, and you shall. You cannot help it. You are but a man."

"Yeah," Percy agreed glumly. "What a sin. Let's go, Zoë. We're already behind schedule."

"At least on that, we can agree."

Running through the junkyard, Percy looked at all the awesome junk, occasionally stopping to inspect some of it. He couldn't help it. There were just so many cool things—it was like it was built to tempt you. A javelin flickering with electricity, a cool spiky helmet from that video game he used to play, a suit of celestial bronze chainmail armor with a built-in cape made of—

"Wolf's fur," Zoë appraised. "And it looks like… Yes, this armor will strangle its wearer to death if they forget to take it off at sundown."

"How do you know that?" Percy asked curiously.

"I have lived a long time, and seen many things," Zoë explained. "I have learned to appraise magic items."

"Can you teach me?" Percy asked with stars in his eyes.

"Not now," Zoë shut him down. "We are busy."

"Oh," Percy accepted sullenly. So that was a 'no,' then. Since they would always be busy for the rest of the quest, and then he wouldn't see her again after this. Maybe he'd ask on the next reset. And he wouldn't tell her how he felt. That sounded alright.

"Hey, Zoë," Percy got her attention a few minutes later. "I've been thinking about the second line of the prophecy."

Zoë's step faltered, but she didn't stop moving.

"Maybe it's already been fulfilled. Because Blackjack left the quest. One left in the land without rain."

Zoë sighed as she ran. "You know as well as I that the prophecy says "One shall be left. Not 'one shall leave.'"

"I know. But we did leave him. He was left by us," Percy tried to argue.

Zoë shook her head. "No. He left us. He is no longer here, while we are. No, one of us shall be left here. If we get a choice, it shall be me."

Percy shook his head, too. "I still think that's ridiculous."

"Hm." Zoë made her noise that could mean anything, and Percy found he liked it a lot better when it was coming out of her instead of Aphrodite.

Finally, the two made it to the end of the yard, where the thirty story Talos laid on the ground, buried in awesome trash, waiting for them.

"Okay. We didn't take anything, so we'll just walk right on by," Percy said hopefully.

"That is the plan," Zoë agreed.

The two snuck around longways.

They did everything right.

They didn't make any noise.

They weren't near the thing.

They didn't call it defective.

They made it to the black asphalt of the highway.

And then they heard the familiar (to Percy) noise of ten thousand swords screeching against each other at the same time.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Percy screamed helplessly. "WE DIDN'T TAKE ANYTHING, YOU GIANT METAL FUCK!"

Zoë realized why Aphrodite had emphasized the word 'everything.' This Talos didn't activate when someone took something from the scrapyard. It was just plain defective. Like everything else, it had been thrown away. Because there was something wrong with it.

She didn't get the chance to explain her theory, though. She shouted, "Perseus! Get in the tow-truck and go! I shall distract Talos!"

Percy looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. "Are you insane?!"

The ensuing fight was not pretty.

It wasn't like a beautiful dance of death, with masterful swordplay and elegant use of divine powers.

No, it was a slugfest.

Percy and Zoë took turns attacking while it chased the other. One looked like an idiot, chopping at toes or shooting tiny arrows, and the other ran for their lives.

It didn't look pretty, but it worked well enough.

Until it didn't.

Apparently, the defective Talos didn't have a defective brain, as it wised up to their strategy after a while.

Percy would stab and slash, and it would try to stomp him. While it was stomping at him, Zoë would shoot at it until she got its attention, and then she would run while Percy attacked, trying to grab its attention again.

After a few times, it realized what was happening. Percy got its attention after inflicting a particularly large gash on its pinky toe, and it stopped chasing Zoë. It lifted up its foot to crush Percy.

But it didn't put its foot down towards Percy.

It turned back to the now standing-still Zoë at the last second, and Zoë wasn't fast enough to get out from underneath its shadow.

Percy froze as time slowed to a crawl. "Boost! Boost!"

He cast 'Boost' on himself twice, something Lily had made very clear he should never, ever do if he ever wanted to walk again.

But he didn't care. If Zoë died, he'd reset anyway. He'd never make it past this winter without her. It wasn't happening.

His disavowal of his own safety saved Zoë's life.

He pushed her out of the way.

He did it.

Zoë watched in horror as Perseus disappeared from view. She felt like she was dropped in ice. Her heart stopped beating. Her lungs stopped breathing. Her eyes wouldn't stop leaking.

And then she heard the screaming, and her whole body started back up again. He was screaming! He wasn't dead! He was alive!

But not for long, if she didn't help him!

She shot arrows at Talos's eyes with precision and speed she didn't know she had. All the while, the screams of Perseus kept her going. If he was screaming, he was alive. He had to stay alive. She didn't understand why, but he had to stay alive. If Percy were to stop screaming, she… she didn't know what she would do.

Why had she taken the pelt?! Why didn't she let Perseus wear it?! That damnfool man!

Zoë realized Percy had gotten inside the giant's body through its foot, as he'd told her Bianca had done. Talos started punching itself in the face and making crazy movements, Eventually, a shiver seemed to run through its body as it dropped its massive sword and started falling over.

Towards the power lines.

"Oh, no…" Zoë could only whisper as she ran towards the giant with a man inside.

Electricity arced through the automaton's massive body, and Perseus stopped screaming.

Zoë stopped breathing.

The Talos staggered around like it was drunk, pieces of it collapsing and falling off. It staggered its way into the junkyard again, where it finally collapsed with a massive CRASH!

Zoë sprinted towards it.

"No, it cannot be… It cannot be…" she kept muttering as her tears continued falling.

Everytime a piece of junk settled and made a noise, her tears poured with renewed ferocity.

"No…" Zoë mournfully choked. "No, gods no… not Perseus, please!"

Perhaps the gods heard her prayers, because in just a few minutes, she found Perseus.

Or, what was left of him.

His right arm looked like it had been pulled out of a meat grinder. It was mangled to all Hades, bones cracked in half and muscles torn off. The bones were showing in more than a dozen places. The hand wasn't even still attached, but it wouldn't have mattered if it was. The only part spared was the shoulder and a few inches below it, but even that was still cut up badly.

His right leg, too, was not looking good, to put it mildly. It was massive and a grotesque purple. It had swollen to thrice its original size, nearly a foot and a half in diameter around the thigh. Percy's jeans were split open where the leg had grown.

The rest of him was burnt, bruised, and bloodied, but none of his injuries were life threatening on their own. He had lost too much blood, and getting electrocuted was probably what did him in. His eyes were still open.

Without even bothering to check for a pulse, Zoë ripped the ambrosia out of her Huntress pack. With trembling fingers, she barely managed to open the ziploc bag that the square pieces of the food of the gods were inside.

She pushed one inside Percy's mouth.

"Eat. EAT!" she screamed, but Percy obviously remained unresponsive.

With tears blurring her eyes, she took the square of ambrosia out of his mouth and put it into her own. She chewed it, but didn't swallow.

She leaned down to Percy's mouth and shoved the chewed up square into his mouth with her own, pushing it down his throat with her tongue.

"Please!" she cried miserably. "PLEASE!"

Like he had heard her words, Percy suddenly shuddered, his still open eyes closing and then reopening.

A breath entered his lungs and a scream of pain tore from his lips.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Suddenly realizing he was still alive, he turned to Zoë and gasped, "Water! Give—water! Used—mine!"

Hastily opening her canteen, Zoë made to pour it into his mouth, but he stopped her with his 'good' arm. He willed it out of her canteen and drew it toward his mangled arm.

Zoë thought he was going to heal it, but he didn't.

He brought it to the last good part, a few inches below his shoulder, wrapped the water around it, and clenched his left hand.

The sound your arm makes when you cut it off is surprisingly quiet.

The sound you make when you cut your own arm off is unsurprisingly not quiet.

He kept the water over the fresh wound, and willed his own blood to stay in his body as he healed the stump. Flesh grew over it smoothly.

He choked out, "God—food!"

Zoë put another square of ambrosia in his mouth and he ate it. He didn't have time to notice the tears continuing to pour from her eyes.

Percy surveyed the rest of his body. Most of his wounds were healing up, but his right leg was even more swollen than before he ate the ambrosia.

Catching his breath, he gave Zoë some of his soon-to-be-famous gallows humor: "Looks like Lily was right. 'Boost Boost, bad bad bad, bad.' Least I only used it on one leg."

He wasn't sure if Zoë laughed or started crying harder. Maybe both.

"I need more water, Zoë."

Zoë gave it to him.

He shook her canteen. "Not enough in here. Got any more?"

Zoë shook her head.

"Damn it," Percy swore. He looked up at Zoë. "Don't suppose you'd like to chop off my leg, would you?"

Zoë shook her head violently and started making an ugly face that probably meant she was trying hard not to cry.

"Damn. Guess I'll have to eat more ambrosia."

He reached for the baggie but Zoë pulled it back angrily and howled, "Thou shalt burn upon consumption of a third square, Perseus Jackson!"

Percy let out a tiny sigh. "That's a chance I'm just going to have to take. This leg needs to come off, one way or another. We don't have enough water left, I'm still not recovered enough to chop it off myself, and you won't do it for me. I don't have enough power left to create water from nothing, and it's too dry to pull any water from the air, either. There's no other way, Zoë!"

"There must be something else we can try," Zoë stubbornly insisted.

Percy growled. The unbearable pain was making him understandably irritable. "There isn't. Cut off my leg and leave me here, Zoë! Do it! It should be easy!"

Zoë collected herself. She sternly informed him. "I shall amputate, but I shall not leave thee."

Percy grit his teeth. "Why not? I'll only slow you down, anyway. I should just kill myself and reset."

He didn't expect Zoë to slap him and burst into tears.

"Shut up, Perseus!" she cried. "Do not say such things!"

"One shall be left, Zoë," Percy pronounced ominously. "Prophecies have double meanings, but they're never wrong. One shall be left."

Zoë looked at the soon to be half-a-man. She nodded. "Yes. One shall."

She took her brooch out from her hair, and it grew to the three foot blade Percy was used to.

"Ready the remaining water, Perseus," Zoë ordered.

When he had, Zoë chopped down with all her might, severing Percy's right leg cleanly at the base. Blood poured briefly, before Percy applied the water to the wound, causing skin to slowly stretch across the large area, leaving behind another smooth nub.

Percy finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "If I had phantom pain from those limbs, I think I really would've reset."

Zoë almost slapped him again. "That was not funny, Perseus."

Percy grinned morbidly. "Well, it wasn't a joke, so… Anyway, there's no lingering pain. I think I'll be alright."

Zoë shook her head. "No. You are not 'alright.' You are all left, now."

Percy looked down at his missing right limbs and chuckled as he leaned his head back into a pile of bloody trash. He sighed bittersweetly. He wasn't dead, and neither was Zoë. But there wasn't a huge difference.

"Yeah. I guess I am. I am 'left' in the land without rain."

A/N: Yes, yes! Let the hate flow through you!

You either stop writing a hero, or eventually write something you never enjoyed reading. That's right. I amputated a character and didn't grow it right back. I'm pure evil.

Some people are saying Chloe Nightshade the saber-tooth tiger kitten is forced. Now, how could anyone think that? Honestly, I didn't even think about it until I was re-reading Titan's Curse, and I went, "A dozen kittens grown from saber-tooth tiger teeth? And they just get thrown out and never spoken of again? Not on my watch." I also wanted Zoe to get the kitten because she subconsciously wants a reminder of Percy. She obviously has family problems. The kitten will be her family that will never judge her. She went to the Hunt because her biological family was overly judgmental of her, and now she's finding out that the Hunt is likewise judgmental. She just agreed with it until now. She is worried for the future, and she saw an opportunity in the kitten.

So, the new things will come later in the day. Someone effed with the poll, but that option would have won either way.