Penumbra

Chapter 1 - Skyfall

Percy had been told what would happen should the Titans win.

The conversation he'd had with Chiron, about the consequences should he choose wrong, echoed through his head repeatedly. Percy had been unable to understand how the gods could expect a group of teenagers to hold off the Titan Lord and his army, or how they could simply arm those teenagers and send them off to fight with a pat on the back. The gods expected them to fight their battles for them, they always had and Percy knew they were fighting Typhoon, but he couldn't help wanting to punch Zeus in the face for this.

Percy hadn't quite understood what Chiron had meant, what would happen to the world should they fail to stop Kronos.

As the son of Poseidon jumped off Olympus, aiming for a river far below, he still didn't understand what had just happened. Only recalled the crooked smile that had split across Luke's face, the cracks in his skin that bled pure light and made it difficult to look at him, and the split-second Percy had as Hestia had called out a warning to him before he was falling from Olympus.

Percy turned when the night shifted into day, perhaps only on instinct to protect his back from the imminent eruption, and so he found himself staring up at the Eternal City as a supernova exploded into being from within the Hall of the gods itself and split the very sky apart. The shockwave hit him next, a blast of heat and force slamming him back through the air to crash into one of Manhattan's rivers.

As Percy fell, he saw the comet bursting from Olympus and heading west just before the river swallowed him.

Still, as Percy sank through the river and watched the distorted shimmer display the brilliant and burning light that spread over the horizon, he didn't understand even then what had just happened.

--

Percy pushed himself from the river, landing completely dry on the sidewalk. The sky overhead, where it should only be the beginning of sunrise, was tinged a bloody red. A speck of dust landed on Percy's bare hand, and his eyes furrowed slightly. Like the mortals around him, pointing up at the sky above Manhattan as hushed murmurs and shocked exclamations echoed down the suddenly-active street, he turned his gaze higher to watch Olympus burn.

It was more than clear that the mortals could see it too, and Percy ducked his head to see the ash starting to cover the pavement. Percy's mouth ran dry, the sight of flames – both red and green, no doubt Kronos had caused a cache or two of Greek fire to explode too – climbing up the side of the mountain enough to kick his brain back into gear.

Annabeth. Grover. Thalia.

Along with countless other nymphs and beings whom called Olympus their home, no doubt there was a mass panic amongst those trapped on the mountain as it burned. Screams rang in his ears, though Percy couldn't know if they were memories of the chaos that had occurred recently on the streets of Manhattan, or echoes from the Eternal City above him.

Percy shoved his way through the panicking mortals, trying to ignore them as he bolted back in the direction of the Empire State Building.

"What is that-?"

"Run!"

"We're all gonna die!"

An entire group of mortals had simply dropped to their knees praying in the street, muttering under their breaths about the end of the world and the apocalypse. Percy bit his tongue, holding back from telling them all that there was no point praying now – the Titans were the only ones whom would answer from now on and Percy wasn't keen on finding out how they'd do so.

Only two streets over, Percy found the first of the survivors stumbling over a melted and twisted metal strut, steam curling into the clouded air as they scorched their hands on the hot metal. The skyscraper above them groaned and creaked, and Percy watched as a block of concrete crumbled down. He flung himself between the shattered block and the limping demigod, stumbling as he caught the shards with his invulnerable body.