Percy didn't know why it always came down to him.

Maybe he was born this way, maybe he was just destined to be the unluckiest bastard ever.

Either way, it sucked.

It only took a moment for him to realize what Hazel was screaming about - the moment he saw Annabeth begin to slip, his body threw him into action quicker than his mind could comprehend.

That kind of thing happened with him a lot.

Riptide was out in a moment, Celestial Bronze edge shimmering faintly in the light of the cavern as he lunged towards - no, past - Annabeth, slicing through that single strand of web that had been dragging her into the pit.

Of course, his momentum didn't just disappear after his slide, so he was unable to do anything to stop himself as he realized what was about to happen. Hazel and Nico were too far away to react, and Annabeth was frozen, helpless as she watched him tumble over the side into the pit.

"Percy!" Hazel screamed, the sound raw and real and terrified for him.

By some miracle, he caught hold of a small ledge - no wider than a water bottle on its side - around a dozen or so feet from where he had fallen. Just catching the thing nearly pulled his arm out of its socket, and he grit back a scream of pain as his body jerked to a stop.

The pit shook as though it were trying to loosen Percy's grip, and it was very close to succeeding. His other hand held Riptide tightly, unwilling to let his trusty sword go alone into the pit. Would it return to him then, as it had before?

Percy had a sinking feeling that the answer would be no. He couldn't let Anaklusmos fall.

Nico appeared over the edge of the cavern, throwing his arms out towards Percy in a desperate yet fruitless attempt to save him. He was just too far away. Gods, if Percy had been standing on top of the ledge that he was barely clinging to, he'd still be out of reach.

Percy's stomach dropped, and not just because he could feel the ledge coming loose.

Hazel was yelling for the others, but even if they heard her over all the chaos, they'd never make it in time.

"Nico!" He shouted, his voice carrying itself across the gap clearly despite the rumblings around them, "The other side, Nico! I'll see you there. Understand?"

Nico's eyes widened. "But -"

"Lead them there!" He interrupted, "Promise me!"

Nico looked pained as he nodded his head. "I-I will."

Below them, Percy could hear a voice laughing in the darkness. A sacrifice. A beautiful sacrifice to wake the goddess.

Hazel had made her way over to them by now, and he could see what looked to be Nico keeping her from throwing herself off the ledge to try and help him.

Percy's throat tightened. He didn't think he could say anything if he wanted to.

There was no saving him this time.

He smiled up at them, even as the pit finally threw him loose and he fell into Tartarus.

Alone.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Was this really it? Was he fated to die down there?

…Maybe.

Even as Hazel's screams echoed down into the cavern, his only companion aside from Riptide, he couldn't help but think about how close Annabeth was to being down here. Maybe she was supposed to be here, and Percy had simply taken her place. His fatal flaw had screwed him over before, what made this time any different?

In the back of his mind, he wondered if she'd ever thank him for it.

If he ever saw any of them again.

–

Percy remembered something Annabeth had once told him, about how it might take nine days to fall from Earth to Tartarus. He hadn't really paid attention to it back then - he was more focused on her, her gray eyes, her curly blond hair, her mesmerizing laugh as they celebrated their victory in the Second Titan War - but now, as he fell, the memory was as clear as day.

Maybe it was the pit mocking him for all his failures, reminding him of everything he'd never have.

Regardless, he couldn't really tell how long it had been since he had started falling. A minute? A few hours? A day? All of them were possible, although it had certainly felt like an eternity.

Wind whistled in his ears as the air grew hot and humid, like he was once again sailing through the Sea of Monsters. The memories flashed through his mind like a collage, screenshots of a simpler time that made him miss the sea. It was hard to believe that a life-or-death race against the clock to rescue his best friend from a hungry cyclops (who was actually his brother) counted as simpler times, but it just spoke to how insane and fucked-up his life had been.

A stinging pain from his shoulder broke him out of his musings, a reminder of the cost of giving Nico his final orders. It was probably dislocated, that much he could tell, but hopefully it wasn't anything worse than that.

Not like it mattered. He knew enough about gravity that when he hit the ground he wasn't going to be able to walk that kind of damage off.

If he died down here, would he even go to judgment? Would his soul simply stay down in Tartarus for eternity?

Just the thought of that nearly brought him to tears. He couldn't imagine never seeing Chiron, his friends, his father, his mother - gods, he missed her - again. What would they think happened to him? His mother probably couldn't take it.

Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.

The world around him slowly shifted as he fell. It got hotter, almost unbearably so (even after he had taken a lava bath in Mount St. Helens, he still didn't tolerate hot conditions that well). The darkness lightened a smidge, shades of red entering his vision as he began to finally be able to see. It reeked of sulfur and sludge.

The tunnel he had been falling through opened into a massive cavern, almost like how the Underworld was. Here, however, there was a suffocating presence permeating through the air. It felt wrong.

It felt evil.

The cavern was huge - even from his position in the 'sky', he couldn't see the extent of the cavern, not by a long shot. Red clouds hung in the air, and the rugged black terrain looked as uninviting as possible.

Percy felt nauseous. He wondered if he could throw up midair.

Even through the haze of pain and unease he'd been feeling, he was still cognizant of the familiar tug in his gut that signified the presence of water nearby. He looked down, and sure enough, a jet-black river was flowing through the landscape.

Hope blossomed in Percy's chest. Maybe it wasn't time for him to die just yet.

He knew it wasn't exactly ideal, using a river of the Underworld to break his fall, but he didn't exactly have any other options. He hoped it wasn't the Styx beneath him - he'd had enough of that river to last him a lifetime.

Besides, he didn't exactly have a candidate to be his mortal anchor. Maybe Riptide would be willing to volunteer.

The river was coming in quick. Percy focused on the tug in his gut, and groaned as the river attempted to defy his will. It refused to be controlled by him, resisting and recoiling at his call/

He snarled at the realization. He wouldn't be cowed by some water. He was a son of Poseidon!

Percy felt himself heating up. Whether it was the temperature of the pit rising, the fact that he was hurtling towards the ground at terminal velocity, or the strain of attempting to corral this river, he had no idea.

He screamed as he put everything he had into controlling the river. At the last moment, his will finally triumphed. The water directly below him exploded, a massive geyser erupting to catch him before he splattered due to the surface tension.

He almost wished it didn't. The frigid waters shocked him, and not just because it soaked him to the bone with no regard for his powers. Percy couldn't remember the last time he had unwillingly got wet. He gasped for air, and immediately regretted it as water began to fill his lungs.

Water that he couldn't breathe.

He sputtered, but all it served to do was let more of the river clog his airways.

Percy never truly thought that he could drown, even during his quest to Alaska with Frank and Hazel. But now, staring down the very real and present threat of drowning, he'd never been more terrified.

The water wasn't the only thing pulling against him. Pained cries echoed all around him, screaming at him and trying to pull him further down into the river. They were worse than the water (despite everything, he could tell this was still just a form of water).

What's the point of trying? They asked hauntingly. You'll never escape this place. There's no hope for you. You are doomed to fail.

With every word, the weight of the river seemed heavier and heavier. It was a struggle just to keep his eyes open at this point.

No one cares about you. They just want your power. And when they're done with you, they'll throw you away just like always. Just give up, it would be easier. It is a better fate than what you deserve.

Maybe the voices were right. It wouldn't be very difficult to give up and let the river claim him. In fact, his eyes were so heavy. He was so tired…

Riptide nearly slipped out of his loosened grip. Why should he care, though? It's just a weapon. He has no use for it down here - nothing can save him. This is a kinder death than being ripped to shreds by whatever else is hiding in this nightmare…

Through the inky-black water, Riptide began to glow a bright white. If someone was on the bank of the river, they would have been able to see an ethereal light emanating from the depths.

Percy blinked. For a moment, the water wasn't as bone-chilling. The screams of despair weren't so agonizing.

What was he doing?

And then the river doubled down on the pressure. Percy screamed.

Surrender yourself to us. The voices crowed. You are worthless.

No, that wasn't true.

He had his family. He had his friends. Like Nico, and Thalia, and the rest of the Seven and the other Greeks!

Nico? Like the same Nico who's sister he let die in the Junkyard of the Gods? He probably still hated him for that, he had promised to keep her safe, and she died because of him.

Thalia? She definitely hated him. That game of Capture the Flag was evidence enough. She was willing to put the last Great Prophecy on him, after all - something that she knew would probably kill him, even if he didn't know it at the time.

And the other Seven? Please. Jason was ready and willing to kill him back in America, wasn't he? Piper and Leo he barely knew; they wouldn't side with him on anything. Frank was always wary around him, and for good reason - what had he ever brought to his friends but misery and pain? He was a loose cannon.

The less said about Annabeth the better. She had made her feelings abundantly clear to him on the Argo II.

Percy was struggling to breathe at this point. The water was suffocating. His brain wasn't making things any easier. Was it his brain? Were these his thoughts? Was he hallucinating? He couldn't tell anymore, things were so blurry right now.

What about his other friends? Clarisse, Will, Gwen, Reyna, Lee, Silena -

Percy's mind was on fire as the names of the fallen began to haunt him. Or maybe it was the lack of oxygen finally getting to him. The voices were even louder now. He couldn't even hear himself think over their wails.

Beckendorf, Castor, Michael, Pan, Calypso, Luke, Zoe -

Percy screamed as the water around him began to churn violently, uncaring for the excess water that once again entered his lungs. A small whirlpool was beginning to form in the middle of the river, with Percy's body flailing around weakly in the current.

His head hit the surface. He gasped as precious oxygen flooded his lungs for a brief moment, only to once immediately choke as he was submerged again.

He can't die here. He couldn't. Not when so many people were counting on him again.

What about Poseidon? His father loved him, didn't he? Or did he still believe Percy was an unforgivable mistake, as he had after he had returned Zeus's Master Bolt? He never forgot those words, no matter how much their relationship had improved. Maybe that's really all he was, and all he'd ever be -

No. No. This wasn't right. His dad loved him, he'd told him so before. He'd given up the fight for his kingdom to stop Typhoon at Percy's insistence, hadn't he? But what if he resented him for that? What if -

Percy broke through to the surface once more, but he could feel his strength waning. If he went under again, it would likely be for good. His arms felt like lead (and one was really starting to hurt), and it wasn't as though his waterlogged clothes were getting any lighter.

Join us. You won't have to suffer any longer. The voices crooned, gentler now that he was weaker. It will all be over soon.

Percy wanted to agree with them. This was all so draining. But something was holding him back. Someone would miss him, wouldn't she? Riptide pulsed in agreement - what was that sword doing? He must have been hallucinating.

He blinked, and suddenly the image of his mother was staring him down. The voices faded away into the background as he looked up at her smiling face. She would miss him, wouldn't she? He was always her perfect little boy, no matter what he did, or how he messed up. A queen among women, Poseidon had called her. And wasn't he right?

She loved him like no one else would. She always had. He'd made her life tough, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

Percy blinked again and that mental image was gone. The voices began their beckoning calls anew, but it was too late.

The water had begun to still. Percy could feel the tears running down his face. How long had he been crying?

He kicked and pushed against the water as it continued to try and pull him down into the murky depths, but the pull was weaker now. He splashed and thrashed his way through the liquid towards the riverbank, and with one final heave threw himself onto the beach.

Shards of black glass cut into his skin as he collapsed, but he was too weak to do anything more than whimper pathetically as violent shudders wracked his body. The cold of the river felt as though it had soaked him deeper than his bone, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't will the water off of him.

He couldn't feel his extremities, except for the hand that continued to hold Riptide tightly. His knuckles were white as he gripped his blade, and he couldn't help but stare at the enchanted sword, mesmerized by its faint shimmer in the red-black haze of darkness. Was he truly losing his mind in the river, or had it been something more in those moments?

Percy tried to calm himself, and took a deep breath that he immediately regretted. The toxic air was nearly as bad as the water that continued to clog his throat -

He felt something vile rise up, and barely had a moment of warning before buckets of the river's vile water began spewing out of his mouth. The water was just as pleasant on the way out as it was on the way in, and Percy once again felt nothing but agony as he puked up the remnants of the river that he had swallowed.

The air burned his aching wounds, and he somehow found himself sweating in the sweltering heat while simultaneously shivering as the hypothermia began to set in.

Even without the river's (somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the name of the river - The Cocytus) influence over him, Percy still felt pretty damn bleak about his chances.

No food.

No water.

Nothing but himself, the horribly shredded clothes on his back, and Riptide.

And, based on the fact that around fifty yards downstream there was a crashed Fiat and empty cocoon, maybe there was a giant spider that was getting prepared to rip him to pieces the moment she had a chance.

Percy could have laughed. Or cried. Here he was, alone in the worst place in existence, with the future of the world hanging on his shoulders.

Again.

He wanted to curl up in a ball and let the pit take him. But he couldn't. As much as he loathed it, he had a job to do - and even if he had no clue how to do it, he'd get the job done. He began to slowly pick the shards of broken glass out of his skin.

His resolve nearly cracked as he looked out into the seemingly endless void of Tartarus.

It would have been nice to know anything about his quest.

–

A/N: Me when I make yet another story about a done-to-death cliche in another random fandom. Oh well, sometimes my muse cannot be stopped. I just haven't been in the mood to write anything else. I'm sure that'll change soon, though.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Also hope that you give this story a chance amidst the sea of others just like it, I promise there'll be some unique stuff later!