Never Again

Chapter 1 - Annabeth

I looked across the carnage of the battlefield, my eyes skimming over the bodies, my friends. Where is he? I couldn't see him. My heart caught in my throat. My mind frantically scanned back through the chaos - the explosion, Gaia, Octavius, and I skidded to a halt when I realised it had been some time since I had seen Percy. I sprinted down the hill, away from Thalia's pine, knowing that if I was going to find Percy anywhere, it was going to be in the middle of the action. I was dashing towards a cluster of demigods who appeared to be busy when I heard an awful sound. I turned, and saw Percy, 30 odd metres away, sitting hunched on the ground, shaking some poor figure. I walked cautiously towards him, as one might a wounded animal. Before I could reach him, before he even realised I was approaching, he turned and screamed.

"WILL! WILL PLEASE" Will Solace heard his scream and came sprinting over. I finally reached Percy and found him holding the corpse of Nico di Angelo.

"No..." I whispered, and in my peripheral vision I saw Will Solace fall to his knees beside Percy. He began muttering frantically, rifling in his medical bag and coming up empty. I heard him swear and try to pick up Nico. Percy was now an inconsolable mess, and was holding Nico's shoulders so tightly that I had to peel his arms away to let Will get the access he needed. Percy turned, feeling my presence for the first time and stiffened, trying to draw himself upright. I motioned for him to stay where he was, and turned my focus to Will Solace and Nico di Angelo. No matter how much Percy was hurting right now, Nico was hurting more. "Is- is there anything we can do, Will?" I asked tentatively. After all he'd done for us, I couldn't let Nico die.

Will turned to us with watery eyes and said, "He's got no energy left. I can feel it, he's fading. I'm pouring everything I have into him, but it isn't enough. I- I'm too far gone." I noticed his hands, usually glowing like a beacon from his healing efforts, were dim, sputtering like a flame slowly being doused. I reached for him, to try to help, to do anything, but Percy beat me to it. He gripped Will Solace's shoulder so hard his fingernails dug into his dusty, bloodstained shirt, and Will's head snapped up. He looked at Percy eyes wide and said, "You can't!"

I stood helplessly as Percy's eyes hardened, his brows coming lower and he said, "Do it. Whatever it takes." Will Solace nodded, and I couldn't imagine him doing anything else with the way Percy was looking at him. His hands began to glow, as bright as usual, brighter even, and he bowed his head, knuckles white against Nico's ghostly complexion. I knew what Percy was doing; passing his energy to Nico through Will, who had so little left to give after healing so many people. I struggled to imagine how Percy could have any amount of energy left in him, but the light kept glowing as Percy fed his raw energy into Will.

After an indeterminable amount of time, Will released Nico. There had been no visible change, but Will seemed satisfied with his progress. That is, until he realised that Percy had not gotten the memo. His eyes shut tight, back hunched, Percy was continuing to fill Will up with energy. He hadn't stopped and I knew Will could feel it. "Percy," he said, "Percy I'm finished. He's going to be alright. Percy!" He wrenched Percy's hand off his shoulder and Percy's eyes snapped open. He massaged his hand and glanced down at Nico, then back up at Will.

"Is he.." he said, not able to finish the sentence.

Will nodded gravely. "He should be fine, with enough rest and ambrosia. I'll have to keep him in the light for a few days, so he doesn't fade into the shadows, but he will be fine. Are you okay?" he asked Percy.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Percy said astutely. He stood up, and saw me standing a little off to the side. He grinned, a look of intense relief flooding his face. He walked over to me and I grabbed him in a bear hug, lifting his feet clear off the ground. He laughed, taken aback by my show of affection. "We're fine Annabeth. We've made it and everything is going to be just fine. We're together." I lowered him to the ground, smiling uncontrollably now that I knew the worst was over. We turned back to where Will was, but he had already gone, walking across the field with Nico di Angelo's sleeping form cradled in his arms. Percy slung an arm around my shoulders, and we began to trudge up the hill back towards Camp Half-Blood. Halfway up, I noticed Percy's breathing becoming shallower and shallower. My own breath hitched, remembering the last time his breathing had sounded like that back in- NO. I couldn't go back there now. I turned to Percy, intending to ask if he was okay, but the words shrivelled up in my throat. His face had gone pale, a sickly, awful kind of pale that terrified me.

"Annabeth-" he managed, before his knees gave out and he collapsed towards the ground.