He really had terrible luck. Who else but him? He must have scratched their car, because the fates absolutely hated him. They loved to make his life miserable.

It had happened so fast.

Percy had never been so relieved to see Annabeth. Things between them were tense, but she was still his best friend.

It all happened so suddenly. He and Annabeth were hugging. She had tricked Arachne and had gotten the Parthenos. She had done the impossible, generations of children of Athena had tried and failed. But she had done it, and he couldn't be more proud. She was ripped from his arms, her body slamming into the ground face first.

She was sliding towards the pit.

"Her ankle!" Hazel yelled from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"

Percy didn't know what she meant. He lunged after Annabeth. He grabbed her arm, but his momentum carried him forward. He heard Hazel yell, but he was too focused on saving his best friend.

She slid off the edge, Percy coming with her. Percy's body reacted faster than his mind, grabbing a ledge as they fell, some 15 feet below the mouth of the pit. He looked down at Annabeth, he was still holding her arm. Her ankle had a string around it, the string disappeared into the pit. Something was trying to drag her into the pit.

No escape, a voice resonated up from the pit. If I go to Tartarus, you will too.

It was talking to Annabeth. He wouldn't let that happen. She was going to live; he would make sure of it.

He looked up to mouth of the cave, looking up at Nico and Hazel. The rest of the seven were still on the Argo. "We need something sharp!" He yelled up to them. Percy's grip wasn't going to last forever, he could already feel the adrenaline wasn't going to keep up much longer, he was sure he had torn muscles in his forearm at this point already. He looked back down at Annabeth. "You've got to be ready to catch it, okay Wise Girl?" Her face was scrunched in pain; Her mind was fogged from the string pulling on her already broken ankle. She could only manage a nod.

"We got something!" Nico yelled

"Toss it down!" Percy responded, looking back up at Nico. It was a pocketknife; it must have been in the parking lot. Nico looked worried; it would be hard to catch, especially with one of Annabeth's arms being used by Percy to hold her. It was now or never.

Percy watched as Nico tossed the Knife. The silver rivets in the black handle sparkling in the sun as it rotated in the air.

Annabeth caught it. Percy had never been more relieved someone caught something in his life. David Tyree's helmet catch in the Superbowl had nothing on this. Annabeth fumbled around with the blade in one hand, trying to get it to pop out of the handle.

She managed to flip it open. She brought her arm down, using all her strength to bring her leg up to meet her hand. She had never felt so much pain before, her foot was limp. She brought the edge to the string, slicing through it. Her leg shot downwards as she dropped the knife into the pit. She let out a gasp of relief.

Percy grinned; she would be fine. "Get Jason!" He yelled up to Nico.

"I'm already here!" Jason floated down the pit, ignoring the pull from the depths below. He was tired, he wasn't used to being an air taxi. Jason had to get Annabeth first. He couldn't get them both at the same time, not how they were positioned. He wrapped his arms around her.

Percy looked down at Jason. Jason nodded, telling Percy he could let go of Annabeth now. He let go of her arm. Jason grunted as he pulled her up the pit slowly. Percy's eyes followed them the whole way up. He had to be sure Annabeth got to safety. He could tell Jason was tired, he'd done a lot of flying today.

Percy looked up as Jason and Annabeth disappeared over the top of the pit. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Jason touched down on the ground, a few feet away from the edge of the pit. He let Annabeth fall from his grasp, collapsing to the ground himself. He panted heavily; he was tired. Being an air taxi was hard. Nico looked down at Jason and felt overcome by a sense of grief. There was no way Jason could fly down and get Percy. They would just both fall down the pit. Jason moved to get up from the ground, still panting heavily.

Nico looked down at Jason moving to get up and put a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Nico?! What are you doing?!" Jason looked up at Nico, what was he doing?

Nico pushed lightly on Jason's shoulder, the boy unable to resist the push, falling back to the ground. "You'll just get yourself killed, you can't get him."

Jason looked back up at the boy. He looked tired, as if he had been traveling the wasteland for weeks, which wasn't far from the truth. Jason couldn't put up a fight. His mind was too foggy to fight back. Nico knew what it was like down there. He couldn't let someone else go down there unnecessarily. Even if it meant that Percy would be alone.

Percy was still holding on to the ledge. He was focused on trying to keep his grip. He looked up, seeing Nico's face appear over the edge.

Neither said a word. Percy knew what Nico was thinking; Jason couldn't get him. Percy took a breath, he'd seen how tired Jason was, even getting Annabeth was almost too much. He felt his resolve harden. "The other side Nico! I'll see you there. Got it? Lead them there!"

Nico could only nod as he looked at the one person who hadn't treated him poorly. Percy had never treated him badly because of his dad, even when he tricked him into going into the underworld. Percy had forgiven him. He wouldn't let him down.

Percy looked down into the pit.

Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.

Percy let go.

The wind whistled past his ears as he fell. Percy remembered Annabeth telling him that it took nine days to fall into Tartarus. He didn't have a watch, (he needed to ask Tyson about that) so he couldn't confirm that theory. The Air was getting hotter and damper. Every part of his body was aching. The muscles in his left forearm, the ones that moved the hand and fingers, hurt. Holding the ledge that long had done some serious damage.

Percy looked down into the pit below him. It was pure void. He was going to hit the surface of Tartarus at terminal velocity. That would probably hurt, just a little. Maybe he could make his clothes into a parachute? He looked down at his clothes and immediately scrapped the idea. His shirt was littered with holes. His sweatpants he had borrowed from Frank weren't too bad, but that wouldn't slow down very much.

He didn't have any more time to think as the surroundings around him started to change. The darkness was turning a reddish hue, the air turning from a whistle to a roar. The air started to smell of sulfur and rotten eggs. The chute he had fallen through suddenly opened into a giant cavern. Red Clouds hung in the sky. The landscape was black plains, with jagged mountains and violent chasms. Percy looked back down to the quickly approaching ground. He made out a ribbon of black liquid below him, a river.

Water is water, isn't it? Percy thought. He reached out towards the river, his mind speeding up, time moving slower around him. He felt the familiar pull in his stomach and grabbed it. The water fought against him. He wasn't the prince of this water, it would fight him for control. He glared at the resistance. Percy let out a defiant yell, doubling his efforts. At the last possible moment, the water erupted upwards in a geyser. The black river swallowing him whole.

His lungs filled with water as he instinctually tried to breathe through the water. He sputtered as the water filled his lungs. He wasn't used to drowning, usually water invigorated him. This water exhausted him. He was bobbing up and down, gasping for air when his head breached the surface. Assaulting him physically and mentally.

Is it even worth it? Everyone dies eventually.

Percy was cold, so cold. It was hard to focus on swimming. His head reached the surface. He heard a noise on the land beside the river. He fell back below the water.

Why even bother? It's all pointless. No one is going to save you.

"Pointless," Percy muttered, he stopped focusing on swimming, letting himself sink into the water. The water was right. There wasn't a reason to keep trying. He sank further into the water, dropping lifelessly as he closed his eyes. He heard a noise break the surface of the water above but ignored it. It didn't matter, nothing mattered. It was all pointless, he would die at some point anyway. Why not now?

A hand gripped his collar, yanking him upward. Percy's eyes shot open, watching the water rushing downward around him. He fell onto the shore, landing on his back. He ignored the sharp pain in his back as he rolled over onto his side, coughing up water. His eyes were closed, the water stinging them.

He felt terrible. The water burned his lungs and coughing it up made his throat feel like it was on fire. He blinked away tears as he opened his eyes. He let out a pitiful cough as the last of the water was drained out of his lungs.

He rolled over onto his back, closing his eyes. He ignored the sting from the glass like surface of the beach. He let out a groan as his breathing settled. His moment of peace was interrupted by a thought.

What the Hades pulled me out?

His eyes shot open. A set of eyes was looking right back at him.

She's dead.

She's dead.

She's... dead?

She's... not dead?

Percy said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Huh?"

A/N:

For those that read before, I changed the story a little bit. I struggle with writing in that style.

Please Review! Appreciate any tips or criticisms!