His Dark Side (Edited Version)

Chapter Ten: End Scene

Trigger Warning: Suicide

The mirror's view changed a few minutes after Percy had stopped crying, showing him to be on the porch of the white house.

Annabeth immediately rushed downstairs, and, despite herself, made sure she had quick access to her dagger.

Hazel and Frank, who were sitting in the living room huddled together, looked up as she barreled down from the attic. "Annabeth? Is everything-"

The front door pushed open and Hazel jumped, immediately going green in the face. Frank instinctively held her close, hiding her face in his chest while she trembled slightly.

Somehow, Percy looked worse in person. The blood looked so much more real, the bits and pieces of flesh and stray organs so much more vivid. The smell was absolutely rancid, like opening a fridge after it was abandoned for several months without power.

He stumbled inside, eyes locking onto Annabeth's.

"Annie, I'm so sorry I-"

Annabeth took a step back, tears welling in her eyes. "No, Percy, I-"

"I know," he cut her off, taking a step forward. Jason and Piper came out behind Annie. Piper dry-heaved again, immediately backing away. Jason nudged her towards the hallway, standing next to Annabeth. "It's not... I'm sorry, I- I went to Tartarus. For a bit."

"I know," Annabeth whispered, shaking her head. "We saw."

Percy stiffened. "What do- What do you mean?"

"We saw everything. The Scrying Mirror in the attic."

The blood and such was slowly turning to dust now that it was exposed to normal air, leaving Percy looking more like he had just finished rolling in the sand of a mass shooting. Percy's face fell even further, glancing at Hazel and Frank and then back at Annabeth and Jason.

"Who... Who saw?"

"All of us, Percy. You need... You need help, okay? We need to get you to... To someone, I don't..." Annabeth dragged her hands through her hair when Percy shook his head no, tears escaping the confines of her eyes. "I can't... Percy you attacked me. I can't just... Forget about it. We need to take a break in our relationship until you're better, for both of our sake."

Percy opened and closed his mouth, eyes flashing again. Annabeth went to move forward but Percy took a step back, shaking his head. "No. I need... I need to think. I'll be at my cabin."

"Percy?" Nico burst through the door leading to the attic stairs. "Thank god you're still here. Sorry, I was talking with L-" He paused abruptly, looking between Annabeth and Percy. "What's going on?"

Jason cleared his throat, getting Nico's attention and leaning forward to whisper in his ear, despite everyone knowing what was being said.

Nico blinked. "... Oh. Percy, are you feeling okay right now?" When Percy didn't answer, he looked a lot more concerned. "Percy?"

Percy shook his head, turning on his heels and running out the front door. Nico cursed, dragging his palms over his face as he started to pace. "Annabeth, you were the only thing keeping him tethered to the normal Percy!"

Annabeth swallowed thickly. "He attacked me, and you saw what he did to those monsters. I can't trust him anymore, yet alone date him. He needs to get better."

"He did that to those monsters because he was trying to rescue you, and the only reason he attacked was because of his trauma! He was scared you were going to hurt him!"

"Annabeth has a point, Nico- Percy was probably going to kill her if we hadn't intervened," Frank spoke up timidly, shaking his head. "You saw his grip on her."

"And you heard my conversation with him, before Leo came and fucked everything up!"

"Leo was just trying to help, Nico," Hazel said, looking up at her half-brother from where she was tucked next to Frank. "You can't blame him for that."

They all remained silent after that, except for Nico, who was pacing and muttering under his breath.

Finally, Piper came around and Leo and Chiron worked their way down the stairs, everyone seeming to silently attempt to comprehend everything that was happening. "Where is Percy?" Chiron asked, looking over the group of the people he considered his children.

"His cabin," Annabeth answered weakly, feeling like she might collapse at any moment. "He said he- He needed to think."

"We should probably go check on him," Piper said softly, looking towards the door. "I just hope he hasn't switched again. If we all go we can show that we're still here for him, even after everything."

"But we need to be careful not to overwhelm him," Nico added. Jason nodded in agreement.

The trip to the Poseidon cabin was painfully short, considering none of them knew what to say or do.

Nico took a deep breath, stepping up to the door and knocking softly. "Percy? Are you in there? We wanted to check in and make sure you're okay."

There was no response. Nico cursed, knocking again but louder. Still nothing. He tried the knob, but it was locked.

"Move," Jason grunted, nudging Nico to the side so that he could position himself, lifting up his leg and kicking the door open.

The entire room smelled metallic. At first, Annabeth assumed it was the smell of the monster dust. Then she saw him.

Her hands flew over her mouth, immediately rushing into the cabin and dropping by his side, but it was obvious they were too late. There was too much blood.

The sword was driven directly through his heart, his hands still clutching the handle. His eyes were half-lidded and completely void of any life, hair and clothes splattered with blood and scratches. The cherry-red blood spread out under him, soaking into the wooden floors of the cabin and staining it crimson.

Nico was the first to break.

He sobbed, backing out of the cabin and leaning over the porch rail and immediately getting sick, retching loudly as sick hit the ground. Jason quickly followed him out, his own face green as he distracted himself by rubbing the small Italian boy's back and holding him when Nico turned to bury his face in his chest, sobbing loudly while Jason quietly consoled him with a far-off look in his eyes.

Piper and Leo joined them, both silently crying as they all wrapped each other up in their arms, desperate for a semblance of comfort with the beating hearts of their friends- But it wasn't anything without Percy.

"Guys-" Hazel whispered softly, her voice choked up, "look at this."

They all turned to look at her, except for Nico who remained adamant about not looking anywhere near Percy, and at the piece of paper in her hands, all of them crying as Annabeth read the note out loud, the edges of the paper holding red fingerprints from the blood on Percy's hands.

"I'm sorry. I love you all so much. I'm really sorry. Please be happy. I hope I did what was best. You all mean the world to me, and will continue to do so, even in the afterlife, and despite everything that's happened. You're all what helped keep me sane through everything, but clearly not all things can be good forever. I truly am sorry. Love you all. Annabeth, in my bedside drawer there is a ring- I meant to propose, but things didn't turn out how I would have liked. If you choose to get rid of it, please give it back to my Mumma instead of throwing it away. And tell her and Paul that I love them for me?
-Percy"