Chapter Thirty-Two

Percy shot up from the well and landed on the edge before he got up on his hands and knees. He started to cough up some of God's thoughts, expelling it from his lungs, before greedily taking in oxygen to replace it.

"Percy!" Artemis yelled as she rushed over to him and helped him up. Once he was on his feet, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, I thought you were dead." She said quietly.

Percy coughed. "I thought so too, for a second there."

She pulled away. "What happened? Did you find anything out?"

"Yeah, I think so. It was kind of weird. I had a couple of visions."

"What did you see?"

"I was on a snowy plain, and I watched two armies battle. On one side were Gods, and the other were monsters. And I watched as they killed each other."

"Were they Olympians?"

"No. I didn't recognize any of them."

"Describe some to me. I might know them."

"Well, one of them was missing an eye. He was wearing chainmail, so I couldn't really see much more than that. He did have a beard though. I don;t know if it helps, but he held a spear. He died fighting a giant wolf. There was another God, he was tall and fat. He had red hair and a big beard too. He held a massive hammer. He fought against a giant snake. He beat it, but he was covered in venom and died right after."

"Norse. They are Norse. The one eyed God is Odin, the other one is his son, Thor. You are describing Ragnarӧk, where most of them die. It is supposed to be the end of this world and the start of the next."

"I don't know if there is going to be another one. In the middle of it, God's angels came down and slaughtered the remaining Gods. Took them by surprise."

Artemis was silent as she contemplated Percy's vision. "Hmm. That is most disturbing. Now, you said you had visions, plural? What happened in those?"

Percy shrugged. "Nothing really, just saw some ways I could die. Nothing new, really."

"Ah."

Percy walked over to the stairs and sat down. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes far away, deep in thought. Finally, he spoke. "We have to warn them."

"What?"

"The Norse Gods, we have to warn them."

"Percy, how? Gods of different pantheons are not supposed to intermix. There are very few exceptions to that rule, none of which would apply to our situation."

"What are the exceptions?"

"If the same God is part of two pantheons, such as Serapis."

"Is there an exception for God and his army slaughtering another pantheon?"

"No."

" , if you can't help me, then I will go by myself. That's allowed right? I remember, a long time ago, Chiron told me that demigods aren't bound by the same rules as Gods, we can go wherever, challenge whoever, as long as we accept the consequences."

"Demigods are not bound by the same restrictions as Gods, that is true, but whether that applies to this specific rule, I am not sure. I do suppose it is possible that you would be allowed."

"Artemis, we are talking about the fate of an entire pantheon here. Whether I'm—"

"I agree with you, Percy." She said, softly. "Do not take my statements as disagreements. I am merely pointing out that forces outside of our control might stop you."

"Hopefully those forces will make an exception."

"But are you ready to face whatever consequences may come?"

"Artemis, I'm a demigod, there are consequences to fucking breathing. I've seen a couple of outcomes, and all but one ended with my death."

"Which one was it? How did you avoid death?"

"I gave up." Percy said quietly. "I doomed the world to destruction so I could rest, and live a peaceful life. With you." He sighed and rose, grunting as he did so, his back popping. "But I'm not doing that. I will die a thousand times before I do that."

Artemis pursed her lips. "Admirable. Now, how do you plan on warning them? They are not like us, roaming the Earth. Only one of their realms is on this plane, and they have nine of them."

"I think… I think I have to call up an old friend."

LINE BREAK

Percy and Artemis stood in front of the door. Percy took a deep breath before he knocked on the door.

They waited for a second before they heard the sound of soft footsteps making their way across the room. The door opened a crack, revealing a sliver of Annabeth's face. Seeing who was on the other side, she opened it fully. "Percy? Lady Artemis? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Annabeth. Do you think we can come in?"

Annabeth glanced back into her room, at the digital clock on her desk. She turned back to them. "Sure. My roommate shouldn't be back for another hour." She stepped out of the way, allowing them into the room.

It was small, the size of a typical dorm room, with two beds with desks at their feet. Annabeth's bed was messy, while her roommate's was made, nice and neat. On Annabeth's desk was an open textbook, mainly pictures of various columns. She took a seat. "What is going on?"

"Your cousin, he is Norse, right?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, Magnus is Norse, why?"

"I need to meet with him. It's kind of important."

"What's going on?"

"I need to meet with the Norse Gods. I'm… on a quest of sorts."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "What's the quest? Maybe I could help you out, besides getting you to Magnus, I mean."

Percy shook his head. "It's something I have to do on my own."

"You and Lady Artemis, you mean." She corrected.

Artemis shook her head. "I cannot help beyond this. I am not allowed. He is correct, he must do it himself."

"Oh." Annabeth stood up. She walked over to her bed and got on the floor, looking underneath it. She reached under the bed and grappled around for a few seconds, before grabbing something and standing back up.

"You have a phone?" Artemis asked. "That is dangerous."

"It's really only used for emergencies. But, it is not so dangerous when used on campus, or in the city. The sheer number of us should attract monsters anyway. But, monsters aren't eager to attack us when our numbers are so high. A phone doesn't change that much." She explained, tapping the screen a couple of times. She put the phone to her ear.

Percy and Artemis were silent, letting Annabeth make the phone call. Despite Annabeth's words, Percy had seeds of doubt in the back of his mind. He put his hand in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around Riptide.

"Hey, Magnus." Annabeth said. "You busy?"

She paused as her cousin answered. "I have some friends that want to meet you. You remember Percy?" She paused again. "Yeah, my ex." More pause. "No, he's good, don't worry. You'll like him. Where should I send him?" Pause. "Okay, thank you, Magnus. Love you. Bye." She hung up the phone and put it face down on her desk. She looked at the two. "He and his friends are at the Brooklyn Transportation Building, in the food court. He likes the falafel there."

"Thank you so much, Annabeth."

"Any time, Percy." They turned to leave, but Annabeth spoke up once more. "Percy! Please be careful."

Percy grinned. "I always am."

Artemis frowned. "No, you are not." She said at the same time Annabeth said, "No, you aren't."

Percy rolled his eyes, muttering something about there being two of them. He stepped out of the room, Artemis following. They closed the door, and Annabeth saw a bright light through the crack under the door, signifying their disappearance.

LINE BREAK

Percy and Artemis appeared in an alleyway in Boston, startling a sleeping homeless man. The man got up and walked out of the alleyway, grumbling under his breath about 'damned horny couples'.

They walked out of the alleyway, the bright sun shining in their eyes. They walked over to the large brick building in the distance. The Boston Transportation Building.

"Is this it?" Percy asked.

"I think so. I do not know Boston all that well."

"Me neither, I'm a New Yorker. Let's see if we can find the food court."

They walked into the building, and using the directories on the walls, found themselves in the food court. It was a small thing, only a couple of restaurants, all of them local. A lot of homeless people sat at the tables, slowly eating. At the end of one of the tables was a group made of two teenagers and a woman a couple of years older than them.

"I'm going to assume that's them." Percy said, less a question and more a statement.

"They do have an air of the supernatural to them." Artemis said.

They approached the trio, who, upon seeing the strangers approaching, stopped their conversation. They watched as the couple walked up. There were two men and a woman. The woman wore a green hijab and had brown skin. A large battle ax was slung over her back. One of the men had white skin, with blond hair, parted in the middle. Although it was hard to tell, since it looked like it had just been cut. Percy assumed him to be Magnus, as he could see the resemblance to Annabeth. The other guy sat next to him, holding his hand. He had darker skin than Magnus, but lighter skin than the woman. He had green hair, dyed, with brown roots from hair growth. Suddenly, his form shifted, and his, no, her, hair was a bit longer.

"Percy Jackson?" The blond asked.

Percy nodded. "Magnus?"

Magnus nodded. "Sit. Let's talk."

Percy and Artemis sat down, the Goddess sitting next to the woman whose name they did not know.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Artemis. She's a Goddess."

"A Goddess? Our apologies, my Lady." Magnus said, bowing as well as he could. The girl holding his hand did a little bow of her own.

"What's a Goddess doing, accompanying you?" She asked Percy.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Can a wife not accompany her Husband? Can a queen not accompany her Queen in the matters of their kingdom?"

"Married, huh?" Magnus asked. There was something in his eyes, surprise, sure, but something else too. It vanished after a second. "Kinda quick. You and Annabeth split, what a couple of months ago?"

"One, she broke up with me, and by letter no less. Two, we didn't really have a choice in this matter."

The woman next to Artemis hummed. "Arranged marriage?"

"Yeah." Percy said.

"I am in one myself. We love each other very much. How about you two."

"We're making the best of it."

Artemis hummed her agreement.

"What are you wanting from us? I doubt you're here to make pleasantries." The girl next to Magnus asked.

"I'm sorry, what is your name?" Percy asked.

"Alex. Alex Fierro. This is Magnus." She said, confirming Percy's suspicions. "That is Samirah." She nodded at the woman next to Artemis.

"Sam." Samirah clarified.

"We're here because we need your help, as you guessed. It's a long story, and we don't have a lot of time, but basically, your Gods are in danger." Percy said.

"Explain." Sam said.

"Ragnarӧk is coming." Artemis said.

Percy nodded. "And in the middle of it, God's angels will come down and murder the survivors. We need to warn them."

"I mean, the Gods are going to die, whether it's by Ragnarӧk or angels." Alex said. "Nothing can really change that."

"That is true, but Ragnarӧk is not just the death of the Gods, it is also about the rebirth of the world." Artemis said. "And if the angels interfere, there will not be any rebirth."

"So what do you propose we do?" Magnus asked.

"Can you set up a meeting with your Gods? We can explain the situation to them, and hopefully we can come up with a plan."

Magnus sighed. "We could try, but the only God I really have access to is Odin, whenever he's at Valhalla. And the only way there is if you're chosen to reside there."

"How do I get chosen?"

"Well, first you have to die in combat while holding a weapon. Then a valkyrie will decide if you are worthy."

"Oh. Well, shit." He sighed. "You wouldn't happen to know a valkyrie, would you?"

Magnus smiled. "In fact, we have one right here." He turned to Sam.

"Percy, you are not thinking–" Artemis said, turning to her husband.

"I am." He interrupted her. "This is important, Artemis. We can end God's plan right here, before it gets too late."

"I know, but Percy, you are not Norse, what if… what if you do not go to Valhalla? What if you join Hades?"

The room seemed to darken. Percy seemed to think it over. "It's a risk I have to take."

LINE BREAK

They all stood around the clearing. Magnus and Alex leaned against a tree, waiting for the show to start. Samirah stood nearby, ready to collect Percy's soul once it left his body. Percy was readying himself to die, both physically and mentally. Artemis approached him.

"I do not like this, Percy. I do not want to kill you."

"Do you think I want to die? Artemis, this is terrifying for me. I am actually going to die. But it is something that has to be done." He sighed. "Besides, you're not killing me. Your pet pig is."

"The pig is only going to kill you because I command it to. You will not be able to even harm it. Your blade will bounce off its hair, because I will will it to. You will die because of my intervention in the fight. I am going to kill you, Percy." Her voice was hard in the beginning, so when her voice became quiet and soft for the last sentence, it took him by surprise.

Percy stepped closer to her. "What happened to the Goddess who would kill men without a second thought?"

"Men who deserved it. You do not."

"Excuse me, but why are we doing all this?" Alex asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to just relay the information to us and we can give it to Odin? He'd also be more likely to listen to us, no?"

Percy shook his head. "This is too important to leave in someone else's hands. I need to see it done. If anything were to go wrong, and I wouldn't know…" Percy sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you, but… this is just something I need to do myself."

Alex nodded.

Percy turned back to Artemis. "Are you ready?"

She nodded.

Percy turned to take his position, but Artemis grabbed his arm. He looked back at her. She reached out and cupped his cheek before leaning up and placing her lips on his. He closed his eyes and kissed her back. They separated after a minute.

"Godspeed, Percy." She whispered, before turning around. Butterflies churned in Percy's stomach, but whether they were from the kiss or the fact that he was about to die, he didn't know.

He stood at the edge of the clearing and shook his arms, before drawing Riptide. On the other side of the clearing, a large pig squeal shook the trees. Birds flew from their nests, disturbed. Squeal wasn't exactly the right word for the noise. It was a deep rumbling scream, yet it still had the texture of a squeal.

The Earth beneath Percy shook as the trees parted ways for the giant boar. It's skin was gray, with a line of thick black hair running down its back. Its eyes were red, burning with fiery rage. Two large tusks protrude from its head, each one the size of a spear. Before Percy stood the Calydonian Boar, the beast of Calydon.

Artemis was looking away from the clearing as she sat up in a tree. She couldn't watch, and didn't want to.

The boar charged at Percy, squealing loudly. It moved fast, faster than something that size should move. Percy dived out of the way. He cursed himself. He should've stayed where he was. He was supposed to die. But it was hard. Every cell in his body screamed that this was muscle memory was taking over. Years of survival training was making itself known.

Percy stood up and swung his sword at the boar's thick hide. Up in her tree, Artemis waved her hand. Riptide harmlessly bounced off the boar's skin. The boar turned around. Not only did the boar move faster than it should have, but it had a better turning radius than it should have.

It charged at him once more. He held out his sword in front of him. He sidestepped the boar, and swiped at the boar's side. Once again, Artemis waved her hand, and the sword just bounced off. The boar turned around and charged again. Percy pointed his sword at the beast. He aimed the point right at its red eye. The boar charged right into it.

The beast squealed in pain. However, it immediately got its revenge as it impaled Percy through his stomach on its tusk. It continued its charge, only stopping when it hit a tree. Its tusk impaled in the bark, pinning Percy to the tree.

Percy grunted, the pain finally slamming into him, the shock wearing off. As he looked down, he realized he had dropped Riptide. Shit. He needed to pick up his sword and die with it in hand, otherwise Artemis' fears would've been right, and he would die for nothing.

The boar squealed as it ripped off its horn, leaving it stuck in the tree, before trodding off. As Percy hung there, he was reminded of one of earliest fights. The first time he fought the Minotaur. He summoned his strength and grasped the end of the tusk. He pulled it out of the tree and out of his body. His blood stained about half of the tusk. He dropped to the floor in a heap.

He got to a knee, grasping the horn. He wasn't dead yet. The boar was looking at him, his sword still impaled in its eye. Its other eye burned even brighter. Percy grinned, his breathing shaky. His strength was waning, his legs starting to give out, his arms feeling heavier.

He dropped to the ground as the boar charged at him. As the boar passed over him, he reached up and plunged the tusk into the beasts' belly. Artemis, deeming Percy mortally wounded, allowed the tusk to.

Percy was dragged with the beast as it charged. He pulled the tusk free. He came to a stop as the boar continued its charge. Percy's breath was starting to fade, his heartbeat slowing. He looked up at the sky. He liked his lips, trying to wet them as they dried.

There was something all demigods knew. One day, they would die. It was probably going to be a horrible, brutal, and graphic death. Torn apart by hellhounds, covered in the poison of a basilisk, crushed by the club of a cyclops, there were endless possibilities. And yet, despite that, he chose to fight. Maybe there was something noble to it, maybe it was just stupidity.

He had wanted a happy ending, he truly did. After all he had been through, he felt like he deserved it.

Yet, he also knew, this was not the end. There was something else all demigods knew. Where they would go after they die. They knew their afterlife was real. They did not go through life wondering what came after. Percy knew what came next. What he hoped would come next.

He gripped the tusk tightly, not taking any chances. His heartbeat stilled, and then, with a final breath…

Percy Jackson was dead.