Percy

He was falling. The hot wind whistled through his ears as he plummeted to the earth. Jason's arms left him immediately and he barely caught a glimpse of his short blond hair before feeling the impact of the ground.

He landed hard on his left shoulder, the impact forcing all air out of his lungs. His vision went dark and he lay on the ground, trying to blink stars out of his eyes. The pain radiated throughout his body, the new impact from his shoulder, and his side where the sword had gone through.

He blinked hard, trying desperately to regain his sight. Visions swam before him, the soupy red air, Jason's body laying feet away from him. Percy had been lucky, he landed on his side, his shoulder absorbing most of the damage. Jason however had landed on his back, his head ricochetting off the floor.

Not that it mattered though, Percy was dying, just like Jason was most likely dead. Just like Annabeth was as well. Staring at Jason's unmoving body, feeling the blood pour from his body, Percy began to cry.

He had begged them to not let anyone else come down, for it just to be him, and now everyone was dead. He didn't want them to see him like this, falling apart. He was an idiot. Only now, when he was dying on the ground in Tartarus, did he realize. He should have asked everyone he knew to help him. He let his pride get in the way and now he's killed everyone.

Annabeth should have forced others to come down. Jason should have taken trip after trip of people down into Tartarus, who cared about the time. They said there wasn't enough time for other trips, that it would only be a few minutes, but they were all wrong. And they were all dead. And it was all Percy's fault.

As he lay dying, he thought of all the people who would have gladly helped him. Grover, only a flight away, would have come down in a heart beat if asked. Nico and Will, who had also come. Thalia, who he had put through so much. She had already seen him cry, she had already seen him fall apart. What was he trying to hide?

More names came to mind, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Piper, all of the Hunters, Conner, Travis, anyone. He tried to desperately to be the old him. The old Percy Jackson who led wars and single handedly defeated Titans. The old Percy who laughed at his own trauma and never asked for anyone's help. He tried to hide the fact that that person doesn't exist anymore. The old Percy Jackson wouldn't have even let Annabeth come down here with him. That's who he was hiding behind, praying that he could drive away everyone who cared about him enough that they didn't notice how broken he was.

Not that it mattered anymore. Percy's vision flickered as another shot of pain flared through him. He dragged his arm to his side, pressing in on the wound, trying to ease the agony. His shoulder that had taken the brunt of the fall didn't move. Percy tilted his head up slightly to get a better look at Jason.

"I'm sorry." He managed. He could just die here. If he died, it would all be over. Maybe in Elysium he wouldn't be so shattered.

As he tilted his head, he saw a dark figure looming nearly 100 meters away. He blinked at the figure. It was him, his capture.

Please just let me die here. He begged the Fates. Let him die beside Jason and beside Annabeth. Let everything just end.

But then a thought occurred to him. His capture had shot the arrow at Jason right after they had left after the fight. Annabeth had screamed before the fight. Percy's breath became more rapid. If he was here, that meant Annabeth was still alive. He couldn't just lay here and die if Annabeth had a chance at making it out.

He turned his head towards his capture again and tightened his one hand grip on his wound. Gritting his teeth, he used every ounce of strength to pull himself into a sitting position. His head started spinning from the blood loss and his shoulder ached, but he was up.

Blinking again, trying to clear his head, He tried to get himself to his feet. He swayed dangerously and nearly fell back down, but he remained upright. He slowly lifted his head to face his capture, the monster who had tortured him for a year, the monster who had made him like this. Pulling his hand away from being a bandage for his stab wound, he raised the shattered remains of his sword and stared him down.

The monster began to laugh, loud and booming. That laugh had echoed in his ears, kept him awake at night. He pushed all his friends away out of fear that they would hear it too. With deep breathing and shaking hands, he readied his fighting stance.

He couldn't give up, not yet. Not until he physically could not lift a sword anymore. Seconds ago he thought he was dying on the floor, but maybe he wasn't as close to death as he thought he was.

"Long have I waited to finish you, Percy Jackson." He grinned, the glow reflecting off his white teeth.

"Believe me," his voice was ragged and strained, "I can say the same thing."

He tried to take one step forward, but the movement on his wound caused him to teeter back. No. A voice told him. You keep going. He gritted his teeth and forced his ruined arm to hold the wound. He could barely move his numb, tingly fingers, but he forced his arm to apply pressure. Glaring straight ahead, he took another step, more stable this time.

Keep going. The voice told himself. Unlike the voice of Annabeth had had previously filled his mind in Tartarus, this one was different. It was himself pushing him. His old self. He could face down this monster. He could do that.

The capture started forward, raising his sword as he did so. Percy took another step to meet him. He threw his sword and Percy blocked it. Pain flared through him once again at the effort, but pain he could take. He could endure pain.

Another strike matched and he yelled out in pain this time. But he turned that yell into a roar of anger. Every emotion that he had felt in the past year surged through him as he threw a strike this time, catching the monster off guard and cutting into his side.

Hit him again. The voice encouraged him. He imagined his laugh and stepped to him, sweeping his sword against his legs. Since it was broken, the shortened length made it difficult for the monster to pair, so it cut jaggedly into his legs, not causing much damage, but catching him off guard. Percy used that surprise to pull a disarming maneuver. His sword nearly came out of his grip, but he kept it in his hand.

He yelled defiantly as the monster grazed the back of his knee with his sword, but Percy used that strike to cut his arm. It was a deep cut, cutting into the bone. The monster yelled and his sword fell from his grip. He went to get it, but Percy thrust the remains of his sword into his chest, which was dodged. In Percy's effort to change positions, he regained his sword.

Percy tried to strike once again, but the monster preformed a disarming technique and Riptide went flying. The monster's sword was at his chest in less than a second.

"Any last words, Jackson?" He snarled.

"I-" Percy tried. He said he would fight until the last second, and it was the last second. Everything that had happened, his whole life, ended here. Ended with a sloppy strike and a sword at his chest. All because he refused to let other people help him.

"No? Pity." And the monster reared back to end Percy once and for all. Percy screwed his eyes shut and heard the sword cut through flesh and bone.

Yet, he was still standing there. After a couple of seconds, he ripped his eyes open and saw Annabeth, standing behind the monster with Riptide through his back and out his chest. Her eyes were wild and she was breathing heavily.

"A-Annabeth." Percy gasped, unable to process the events that had just transpired. The monster dropped to his knees, as surprised a face as Percy wore. He stared up at Percy wide eyed, and blinked once. Then, it was a fact, just as knowing one's name is a fact. The life dropped out of his eyes. He fell to the ground, a body, until he slowly began to melt into sand.

"Percy!" Annabeth looked at him with wild eyes. "I am so sorry." She choked out.

"Wha-" Percy was breathless.

"Oh my gods! What happened?" Annabeth was frantic, crying.

"I heard... screaming..." Percy managed before his knees buckled.

"What happened?" Annabeth demanded as she caught him before he hit the ground. He yelled out as she touched his shoulder.

"You're alive." Percy managed a smile.

"Oh my gods, Percy. I'm so sorry. You're going to be fine." Annabeth started cutting away part of her t-shirt to make a bandage for him. She seemed oblivious to her own obvious injuries, only focused on him.

"No... I'm... sorry." Percy was no longer able to catch a deep breath.

"Sorry? No, Percy, I was supposed to protect you." Her voice caught.

"You... saved me." Percy was watching her. She caught his eyes and paused slightly.

"You're going to be fine. I promise." She tied the scrap of her shirt tightly, making Percy wince. "We did not go through all of that for any of us to die." She glared at him, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Jason?" Percy breathed, not sure he wanted to know the answer. Annabeth's gaze switched to Jason.

"Go help him. I'm... fine." Percy gasped. Annabeth looked back at him, unsure.

"I'm serious. I'm fine." He mustered more strength behind his words. She left his side and he heard her footsteps leave him. He turned his head sideways and watched her carefully find his pulse.

"He's alive." She said from afar. Percy breathed out a sigh of relief. He watched as a sideways Annabeth bandaged up his shoulder and placed something soft under his head. She sat down next to him, breathing heavily.

"How do you think... we can get back... up?" Percy breathed from several meters away.

"I mean, I don't know what else to do but to wait until he wakes up." Annabeth winced in pain. "If he wakes up." She added quietly.

"Are you sure... you're okay?" Percy asked as Annabeth limped back over to him.

She looked at him softly and Percy got a good look at her for the first time. He face was already darkening with new bruises and the way she was holding herself suggested at least bruised ribs. Despite this, she gave him a small smile.

"I'm okay." She said quietly. "It's you I'm worried about."

"Don't worry... about me." He tried for a smile.

"I'm always going to worry about you." She swallowed.

"Percy? Jason? Annabeth?" A voice sounded from the distance. Percy and Annabeth's heads jerked in that direction. With a rapid heartbeat, Annabeth grabbed Riptide and managed to make it to her feet.

"Annabeth!" The voice became clearer and Frank Zhang emerged from behind a tree line. Annabeth gasped with relief and happiness.

"Frank!" Annabeth called out, not even trying to hide the emotion in her voice.

"You guys need a ride?" He came jogging over.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Think I'd miss this party? Nico had me hiding, didn't want to spook Percy with more people. He wanted a back up of someone else who could fly. You know, just in case." Frank left Annabeth's hug and ran over to Jason.

"Is he okay?" He asked in a more serious tone.

"Alive. Pretty serious concussion, but I think he'll be fine. He need help though. And soon." Annabeth looked down at the unconscious Jason.

"And Percy?" Frank looked over at Percy who was watching them both with glazed eyes.

"He's loosing a lot of blood. We need to get him out of here." Annabeth looked more than concerened.

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Frank rubbed his hands. "I'm not as good at flying as Jason is, so I can only do one at a time."

"So," he clapped his hands. "Who wants to get out of here first?"

Please review!

Sorry I tried to tie up some loose ends in this chapter, sorry if it seemed rushed.