Leo's POV

After the battle with Nike, the Argo II was eerily quiet. The adrenaline was still buzzing in my veins, but the crew was exhausted. Me? I couldn't stop thinking about Calypso. Yeah, we had just faced off with a literal goddess of victory, but I had my own victory in mind—a promise I made to a girl trapped on an island.

I found Percy alone, sitting on the ship's deck, staring off at the horizon. For a guy who'd fought gods, Titans, and literal embodiments of evil, he looked... tired. Tired in a way that wasn't about the physical fights.

I didn't plan it, but before I knew it, I blurted, "Why didn't you ever go back to her?"

Percy blinked, obviously confused. "Huh?"

"To Calypso," I clarified, crossing my arms. "You promised you'd free her, right? You broke her heart. And you just left."

Percy's eyes darkened, but not with anger—more like regret. "Leo, I couldn't go back," he said quietly. "It wasn't... simple. I made a wish to the gods that she be freed, that someone would find her—someone else, not me. That was part of the deal."

My stomach twisted with irritation. "Well, that didn't exactly work out. Because she's still stuck there. I should know, I found her there, brokenhearted and bitter. What, am I supposed to be that 'someone else?' So, what? The gods push their work off on someone else, making her wait? Or did they just break their promise? Forget about her?"

That hit a nerve. Percy's face hardened, and when he spoke again, it was with venom. "Damn the gods! Even with a Styx oath, they can't follow through." His voice thundered, and a distant rumble of lightning crackled through the sky right on cue.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "Uh, bro," I said, laughing nervously. "I think Zeus might've heard that."

Percy just shrugged like he didn't care, and honestly, that both impressed me and terrified me. The guy had no fear, no hesitation when it came to calling out the Olympians. It was like he had nothing left to lose. "I don't care, Leo, and once you do enough 'quests' for them, you won't either." He said, sighing.

He met my eyes, calm now, but there was steel in his voice. "I'll make sure they honor their pledge, Leo. Next time I'm up there, I'll make sure of it. If they promised to free her, they will. And you'll be with her."

I wanted to be grateful, but I couldn't help the bitterness that bubbled up. "I appreciate that, man, but... I want to rescue her. Me. I don't want to owe anyone else. Especially not the gods. I want to do it... I have to do it, I promised her."

Percy's smile shifted, and suddenly, he looked at me like I wasn't just another Demigod. It was a look of respect, and I hadn't realized how much I longed for that until right now. There's something about him, something larger-than-life like he's always holding back a raw power that everyone around him can sense. His nod felt almost... reassuring like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Fair enough. But if you need help, you know I've got your back."

I looked down at the deck, wholly unsure of how to ask the question that had been gnawing at me. "I've gotta ask, man. You don't... you don't still have feelings for Calypso, do you?" I asked, scared at the answer, how could I hope to win her heart if he was my competition? I wanted to hate him for that, but I couldn't.

There was a pause. A long one. Percy didn't meet my gaze right away, but when he did, his eyes were distant, lost somewhere in his memories. "Once," he admitted, voice barely more than a whisper. "But it was so long ago. And it was for such a short time. All she is now for me is a 'what if.'"

His words hung in the air like an unspoken truth.

"But I don't regret it," he continued, more certain now. "Taking the prophecy, the whole 'saving the world' bit instead of leaving it to Nico. No, I don't regret it. Not anymore."

He fell silent, and I almost didn't catch his next words. "It's only ever been... Annabeth."

That hit me like a hammer. I understood. I mean, Calypso was important to me, yeah, but what Percy and Annabeth had? That was next-level. That was fate.

"Man, I'm sorry," I said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's better we talk about this stuff, right? No misunderstandings. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Percy smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile. "Thanks, Leo. I appreciate it."

I could feel the tension between us easing. We might've had our own battles to fight, but in that moment, I realized we weren't so different. Percy had fought for what he loved, and I was gonna do the same. I'd find Calypso. And this time, I wouldn't let anyone—gods included—get in my way.

The ship was quiet, and Percy was still leaning on the rail, his expression somewhere far away. I couldn't shake the weird feeling gnawing at the back of my mind, especially after what Percy said about it "only ever being Annabeth." There was something off, something tense, like a rope pulled too tight between them.

"So..." I started, kicking a loose nail on the deck. "What's going on with you and Annabeth? You guys seem... tense."

Percy's jaw clenched, and I saw the flicker of pain in his eyes before he could cover it up. "It's complicated," he said, staring at the horizon again, his voice heavy with something deeper.

I knew that tone. It wasn't just some couple's spat. "Yeah? How complicated?" I pressed, not letting him off the hook. The bad feeling in my gut only got worse. Whatever was going on between him and Annabeth, it wasn't just about a bad day or a stupid argument. It felt bigger than that.

Percy let out a long sigh, like he'd been carrying the weight of a thousand oceans on his shoulders. "I talked to Jason and Nico about it earlier," he began, slowly. His words were careful like he was picking his way through a battlefield of memories.

I stayed quiet, giving him the space to say whatever he needed to.

"In Tartarus," he continued, his voice rough, "Annabeth and I were fighting Akhlys. You know, goddess of misery and poison? She was going to kill us. Slow and painful. So I used her poison against her, I drowned Akhlys in her poison. She was begging me to stop, but I knew if given the chance she'd end us so I didn't let up, then Annabeth begged me to stop, but I didn't listen. Finally, I threw Akhlys into the abyss."

He paused, and I could practically feel the darkness swirling around him like he was reliving every second of it.

"After that, Annabeth… She tried to make me promise to never go that far again, but I just couldn't…. You know, I can't let the ones I love die, not if there is something I can do to stop it. After that, we argued and she said I was a monster. She doesn't trust me anymore. She doesn't feel safe with me."

There was a rawness in his voice that made my chest tighten. It wasn't just a bad fight. This was something way deeper.

I felt my hands curl into fists, anger rising up inside me before I even realized it. "That's crazy," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "You did what you had to do. What? Was she expecting you to just let her die? Man, I'd give anything to have been able to save my mom." I met Percy's eyes, my voice low but fierce. "Take it from someone who failed… To hell with whatever crap she's slinging. You did nothing wrong."

Percy blinked, surprised. I don't think he expected me to get this worked up about it, but damn it, I was pissed. Maybe because I knew what it felt like to carry that kind of guilt. The "what-ifs" and "should-haves" haunted me too.

He looked at me for a moment, like he didn't know what to say. Then he rubbed the back of his neck, a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Thanks, man. That... that means a lot."

I could tell he meant it, but I also knew that smile. It was the kind of smile people put on when they're just trying to keep it together. The kind of smile I'd been wearing for months when I was building Festus and pretending everything was fine.

"Look," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I don't know everything that went down between you two, but you're not a monster, okay? You've saved all of us more times than I can count. Don't let anyone—not even Annabeth—make you doubt that."

Percy nodded, though I could see the conflict still swirling in his eyes. "Yeah... I know. I just... it's hard."

I squeezed his shoulder before letting go. "I get it, man. But you've got us, okay? Me, Jason, Nico. Hazel, Frank, even Pipes, and Annabeth once we talk some sense into them, You don't have to carry this on your own."

He glanced at me, then gave a small nod. "Yeah. You're right."

Annabeth's POV:

I sat on the deck, legs folded under me, staring out into the vast ocean. Piper was next to me, quiet, waiting for me to speak. It wasn't easy to talk about what had happened down there—in Tartarus—but it was eating at me. It had been for weeks.

Piper leaned back on her hands, her gaze soft but patient. "You don't have to say anything, you know. But if you need to talk, I'm here."

I took a shaky breath. "It's just… I can't stop thinking about what happened with Percy and Akhlys. When I saw him—when I saw what he did—I was scared, Piper. I'd never seen him like that before. He drowned her in her own poison. He didn't stop, even when I begged him to. And afterward…" I trailed off, my voice catching in my throat.

Piper didn't say anything, just waited, letting me find the words.

"I asked him to promise me he wouldn't go that far again. That he wouldn't… scare me like that." My hands trembled as I remembered the look in Percy's eyes back then, cold and distant. "But he couldn't. He wouldn't promise me."

Piper nodded slightly, still listening, not judging. She was good at that—being supportive without pushing too hard.

"I thought I could always rely on him," I admitted, my voice wavering. "I've always known my biggest fear is abandonment, and I thought with Percy, I didn't have to worry about that. But after Tartarus… I'm not so sure anymore. How can I trust him if deep down he terrifies me? I don't know if I can rely on him the way I used to."

I hugged my knees to my chest, the weight of everything pressing down on me. "I know Tartarus takes your worst emotions, your darkest thoughts, and it… twists them. It makes them stronger, more real. It warps everything you think you know about yourself and everyone else."

I closed my eyes, trying to calm the storm of emotions. "Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty. And down there, it was… perverted. He was willing to do anything, hurt anyone, if it meant keeping me safe. It wasn't loyalty anymore. It was something darker. Something... selfish."

Piper was quiet for a moment, then she spoke, her voice careful, cautious. "Annabeth, you said it yourself. Tartarus perverts things, corrupts you. But you're only talking about Percy. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, it made you see what you wanted to see? And now… maybe you're too proud to admit it?"

I blinked, thrown off by her words. "What?"

She continued, her voice gentle but firm. "You told me months ago that your fatal flaw is pride. Could it be that when Percy didn't listen to you, when he rejected your advice, and those corrupted feelings from Tartarus took hold… they warped how you see him now? And your pride—your flaw—won't let you admit that maybe he didn't fall as far as you think?"

I stared at her, feeling a knot of tension forming in my chest. "No… I know what I saw," I said, my voice harsher than I intended.

Piper raised her hands, her expression soft and disarming. "Okay," she said gently. "I believe you. And I'm here for you, Annabeth. Always. I just don't want you to make a mistake you'll later regret."

Her words hung in the air between us, soft but heavy, and for the first time, I felt doubt creep in. Was it possible? Could my fear, my pride, be clouding my judgment? Had Tartarus twisted me too, in ways I hadn't realized?

I swallowed, trying to shake the thoughts from my mind. "It's not that simple, Piper."

"I know," she said, her eyes full of understanding. "But maybe it's worth thinking about."

I wanted to argue, to push back, to say she was wrong. But the truth was… I wasn't sure anymore. And that scared me almost as much as what had happened in Tartarus.

Jason's POV

The tension between Piper and me had been brewing for days, and I could tell by the way she was glaring at me across the cabin that we were finally going to have it out. She crossed her arms, her jaw set, her eyes fiery with frustration.

"You and Nico," Piper started, her voice sharp, "you've been isolating Annabeth. Turning the others—Hazel, Frank, Leo—against her."

I blinked, caught off guard by the accusation. "What?"

"You heard me," she said, her tone icy. "I thought maybe it was just Nico, or maybe even Reyna but no, it's continued even after they've both left. I'm disappointed in you, Jason. You of all people should understand what Annabeth's going through."

"Piper, that's not what's happening," I shot back, feeling anger rising in my chest. "You think we're isolating her? She's the one who's been shutting everyone out. You can't seriously believe this is all on us."

Piper's eyes narrowed. "Annabeth has been through horrors, Jason. Things you can't even begin to understand. And instead of supporting her, you and Nico have turned everyone against her—everyone she thought she could rely on."

I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my voice steady. "Yeah, well, Percy's been through those same horrors, Piper. Or did you forget that? Tartarus didn't just happen to Annabeth. Percy was there too. And you know what? She's treated him like dirt ever since we got back. Ignored him, given him the cold shoulder. What did you expect everyone else to think? We're all just reacting to how she treated him."

Piper shook her head, furious. "That's not the same. Annabeth was terrified! Tartarus took her to her breaking point, and now she feels like she can't trust anyone, not even Percy! How can you blame her for that?"

"I'm not blaming her for being scared," I shot back, my frustration mounting. "But you want to talk about isolation? That's what she's been doing to Percy since we got back. She treats him like he doesn't even exist half the time! And you want to blame us for noticing? For reacting to it?"

Piper's eyes flashed with anger. "You're heartless, Jason. You can't even see it. Annabeth went through something you'll never understand, and all you care about is defending Percy."

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but I couldn't let her twist this around. "Percy went through the same thing, Piper. They were in Tartarus together. You think I don't care about Annabeth? Of course, I care. But I'm not blind to how she's been treating him. We should've helped both of them, both. Instead, you picked sides. From the start, you chose Annabeth's side, and you left Percy out to dry."

"I didn't choose sides," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I just—"

"You did," I interrupted, my voice firmer now. "You did pick a side, Piper. I didn't. Not at first. But now? Now I can't ignore how Annabeth's treated him. I've seen the way she's shut him out, made him feel like he's the one who did something wrong. He didn't. And you know what? My heart won't let me stay silent anymore. I'm standing by Percy because it's the right thing to do."

Piper opened her mouth, her voice softer now. "I know Percy was there too, but—"

"He fell for her, Piper. He didn't have to, but he did. He kept her alive, kept them both moving forward. She made it through Tartarus because of him. And now you expect him to suffer for it? You want him to pay the price for keeping her safe? I'm the one who's disappointed. I won't talk about this anymore."

Piper's face flushed with anger. "Oh really? You're just going to order me to stop talking, huh? Is that it?"

"Nope," I said, my voice calm but final. "You can talk all you want. I just won't be listening."

And with that, I turned around and walked away, leaving her standing there, her angry words hanging in the air behind me.