Chapter Text
Percy was still alive, at least for now.
As Annabeth and Bob walked, Percy would occasionally make small groans or mumble something unintelligible. Each sound caused Annabeth’s heart to ache in pain but each sound also reassured her that Percy was still alive. For now. The pauses between each noise were growing longer. Eventually, no sound would come out of Percy ever again.
After an eternity of walking (speed walking, Bob was moving a bit too fast for her taste) in silence, Annabeth stopped in her tracks. Her gut was screaming at her that something was very very wrong.
“Bob, wait,” Annabeth called out. Bob stopped and turned around to face her. He was a few feet away from her, just close enough that she could see the faint outline of the giant in the dark.
“Do you need to rest?” He asked, taking a few steps in her direction. Now that he was closer, Annabeth could see his expression more clearly. Bob glanced at Percy, then back at Annabeth, sending Annabeth a silent message. There’s no time to rest, Percy’s condition is worsening .
“I just…” Annabeth trailed off. They should just keep going. The longer they stay here, the closer to death Percy gets. She looked over Percy. Their hair was matted in dried blood and golden monster dust. Their shirt looked nowhere near to what it used to before, the blood and dirt making it beyond recognizable. Their skin was pale, almost looking grey. They looked dead. She let out a shaky breath. “Nevermind, let’s keep going.”
Bob nodded. “We must hurry!” he warned.
As Bob turned, Annabeth could’ve sworn she saw the rise and fall of Percy’s chest. Deep down, she knew that it was probably a trick of the mind but she ignored that, she had to hang on to any hope she had left that Percy was still alive.
They continued to walk in complete silence. Neither Annabeth nor Bob were up for a conversation, Small Bob was sleeping, and Percy was…
Okay. Percy was okay. Yep, they’re completely fine and any second now they’re going to wake up and say something really stupid yet endearing.
…Any second now.
Percy still hasn’t woken up yet. Still hasn’t made a sound. It felt so unlike Percy. Annabeth was used to them bouncing around, always cracking jokes that made her laugh, but now they’re just completely still. Too still.
They’re still walking in silence. It feels like it’s been forever since Annabeth recovered her eyesight and found Percy on the brink of death in front of her. It’s been too long, Percy could be dead at any second now. But they’re still alive, they have to be.
It’s still silent, that was until Bob spotted the drakon.
There was a god right in front of them. The god was speaking to them, the lost soul, Percy , didn’t really understand why he was talking to someone as insignificant as them. They were just a random spirit, one out of many, surely the god had other more important things to do?
He was still talking. The god was still talking to them. Why was he still talking to them? Percy did nothing but listen only out of respect, not really understanding the muffled gibberish the god was spouting but it was probably important. It was as if their head was still filled with cotton that was only now getting removed.
“-ercy? Percy!” The god called out, barely breaking through the haze of Percy’s mind. He grumbled, “Oh great, should-.... -own this would-....-appen.”
There’s a weird sharp sound, fully gaining Percy’s attention. A snap, Percy had realized belatedly. Hades had snapped and suddenly all their senses came rushing back to them. The cotton was fully removed, the haze in their brain was gone, everything was clear . It was overwhelming actually, to go from nothing to suddenly being able to hear, see, and feel everything . It felt wrong. So wrong.
Everything was-
No. They’re not going to do that again. It’s not going to be another loop. They should be fine now. It’s all good now. They aren’t alone anymore. Annabeth, or at least the glowing orb that might be Annabeth, is here in their arms. Hades is also here for some reason, no longer talking to them… just watching, staring at them with maybe concern. It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.
But the lights are too bright. It’s too loud. There’s so many colors burning their eyes. The tag in their shirt is so itchy. Their clothes feel so wrong against their skin. The blood from their many wounds are warm, wet and sticky, slowly dripping down their skin.
The lights dim. Hades turns away from the curtains he’d just closed and approaches Percy. A pair of headphones appear in the god’s hands before he offers them to Percy, who hesitantly accepts the gift. It’s not quite as overwhelming as it was before anymore. They relax.
Now a bit calmed down, Percy takes the chance to check their surroundings. Hades had closed some curtains before but where did they even come from? Where exactly was Percy? Percy leans to their right to look past Hades, who was blocking their view, behind him were the curtains he’d closed earlier. Green curtains, Percy noted. Their eyes move to the right of the curtains and they see photos hung on the wall. Some of them with younger versions of Percy in them. This place felt familiar, like it was home.
Unlike their senses, their memories were returning slowly rather than suddenly. They only have a few memories right now, most of them just names of people they now barely know. People they should know. Something tells them this wasn’t the first time they’ve had issues with their memory.
It takes them a while but they eventually realize that the reason that this place feels like home is because it is their home. More specifically their mom’s apartment back in New York. But that doesn’t make sense, they haven’t been in New York for months because of… actually they don’t remember why yet. What were they even doing before all of this happened?
They’re aware that there’s someone right in front of them, but they forgot who it was. Someone important? Maybe they know where they are. Maybe they can answer Percy’s questions?
“Where am I?” Percy asks, their voice quiet and scratchy from disuse. It sounded off, was that really how they sound? They realize they don’t remember what their voice used to sound like before. More memories of their past adventures begin to fill their brain. “How am I here? Is Annabeth okay?”
Percy then remembers once again that this is Hades. They had just rambled a whole ton of questions to Hades . However, he didn’t seem annoyed by all the questions, just a bit uncomfortable and unsure of what to do with the situation. He doesn’t answer any of the questions, but even if he did Percy probably wouldn’t have heard him anyway.
More memories trickle back, ones that Percy immediately wishes stayed forgotten. Smelly Gabe, countless expulsions, failures, and the deaths of many of his friends, some of which are Percy’s fault.
Another memory plays in their head, their last one before they ended up in the void.
They collapse from all the Arai’s curses. Annabeth is too far away to do anything to help, thinking that Percy had abandoned her like they did to Calypso. There was no way that Bob would come back to help either, not after learning what Percy had done to him. It’s alright. Percy probably deserved this. They’re barely conscious. Everything fades to black.
The memory confuses Percy. But what happened after? They have a sinking feeling they already know. They furrow their eyebrows and stare hard at the ground. They take in a faux breath and finally look up and stare directly into Hades’ eyes.
“Am I dead?”
Hades studies Percy first before answering, assessing if they’re ready to hear the answer. Percy waits for his response, they’re paying attention to him for the first time since he’s shown up.
“Yes, you are.” Hades finally answers. He sighed. “Unfortunately for me. Do you know how hard it was to track you down? Out of all places, you just had to die in Tartarus.”
“Tartarus?” Percy repeats. Why were they in Tartarus?
Oh. Oh, wait.
“Hm, yes. You and Annabeth were making your way through Tartarus until your demise.” Hades waved off. “And as for your previous questions. We aren’t quite at your mother’s apartment, this is more of an illusion, for lack of a better word, I conjured up because if you saw where we truly are for long enough then your mind would break… more than it already has.”
“Ah,” Percy said, not knowing how to react. “Thanks for that.”
Hades nodded in reply.
“But..how are you even here?” Percy asks. “Aren’t all the gods having some sort of identity crisis right now?”
Hades’ form flickered for just a brief second before returning to his Greek counterpart. “Hmph, I just had to deal with it since apparently finding you couldn’t wait until all this couldn’t wait until all this conundrum was over since apparently you’re still needed for the quest.”
“I am?” Percy asked, confused. “But what can I do? I’m dead.”
Hades’ form flickers once again. “I can’t stay any longer,” Hades stated very helpfully. Percy frowned. He looked Percy in the eyes, his stare piercing right through Percy. “You have a choice. You could stay here in your mother’s apartment, if you so wish. You’ll be safe from the devastation of the war. I cannot stop you if you choose to stay here but I will make sure that the illusion does not fade. Or you can go back to the living world and help your friends. They cannot win without you.”
“I can go back?” Percy asked. “How?”
“You’ve managed to create a soul-bond with the Athena child,” Hades answered simply, gesturing to the glowing orb in Percy’s arms.
“Annabeth,” Percy supplied.
“Yes, yes, whatever,” Hades waved them off. “Now, what do you choose?”
The answer should have been automatic. Obviously they would want to go back to their friends, right? But for some reason they hesitated. Staying here sounded nice, they were just so tired and wanted to rest. They’ve done enough now, haven’t they? They take one look around the apartment before finally making up their mind.
“I don’t run when my friends need me,” Percy tells Hades. “I’m going back.”
Hades smiled. “I thought so.”
The apartment began to fade and flickered between the apartment and what the void truly looked like, which was definitely going to haunt their dreams later. Percy held the orb closer against their chest, causing it to glow brighter. Just before everything completely faded away, they heard Hades say one last thing, “Just know that this path will be a lot harder than you expect.”
“My friend is dying,” Annabeth said, pushing back the thought that Percy might already be dead. She frowned at the giant. “Can you help them or not?”
The giant looked down at her, glowering. “I don’t hear words like that in Tartarus,” Damasen grumbled. “Friend. Promise.”
Annabeth crossed her arms as she huffed. “How about gorgon’s blood?” she remarked. “Can you cure that or did Bob overstate your talents?”
“You question my talents?” Damasen scowled. “A half-dead mortal struggles into my swamp and questions my talents?”
“Yep,” Annabeth replied. She didn’t really have enough energy in her to craft a better response, she just wants Percy back.
“Hmph. Of course I can cure gorgon’s blood. However,” Damasen paused. He quickly glanced over Percy before returning his gaze to her. He takes a step closer to Annabeth. She keeps her eyes fixed on the giant, not daring to look away. He sighed, “I cannot cure death. That was always more of Asclepius’ thing.”
The meaning of Damasen’s words was not lost on her. Percy was dead. They were too late. Percy was dead and it felt like part of Annabeth died with them. She couldn’t stop herself as tears slipped out of her eyes.
She made her way to the bed where Percy lay quietly. After all they’ve been through together they couldn’t just die now. They were supposed to have a life together in New Rome after this was all over. They were going to grow old together. Now they can’t have any of that.
Annabeth clung onto Percy. “Come on, Seaweed Brain. Wake up,” she said. “You can’t die on me now!”
She adjusted Percy so that their chest was up against their ear. She waited a while, listening intently for anything that would let her know that they were still alive. Nothing. Their heart was no longer beating.
“You have to do something!” Bob insisted.
“I’ll provide shelter for the time being,” Damasen relented. “And I’ll send you off with some supplies when you’re ready to leave. That's all I can do.”
Annabeth didn’t really care. It didn’t matter if she had the shelter or not. It didn’t matter if she had the supplies or not. She had just lost her everything. Why should she keep moving forward when there wasn’t anything left for her?
But it’s what Percy would’ve wanted. They’d want her to keep moving until she made it out of Tartarus. They’d want her to keep living her life.
Bob and Damasen kept talking but she didn’t really pay attention to what it was about. Eventually, Damasen called out to her, “Child of Athena.” Annabeth sniffed, wiping away her tears. She was now slightly self-conscious about crying in front of a titan and a giant. “Come have some soup. It’ll do you some good.”
Annabeth didn’t really want to let go of Percy, but she did anyway. She had to keep going, for Percy. She was just about to get up and leave when she felt something shift next to her. She turned around and stared at Percy. She held a breath as she watched their eyes flutter open.
“Impossible…” Damasen muttered.
“Percy?” Annabeth questioned.
Percy sat up, rubbing their eyes. They looked directly at Annabeth and shot her a grin, “Hey, Wise Girl. What’d I miss?”