The Years After (Percabeth fanfic)

15. Fatal Flaw

Annabeth

As soon as we landed, I jumped off. That nap was all I needed to bounce back. Leo let everyone off except the Area kids then he went back in the air to help out the Pegasus riders in the sky. I raced through the crowed camp. People were being carried through the camp on stretchers, and from the looks of it, the infirmary was so full, they had to use the dining area as a make shift hospital.

I ran around with Piper until we found Chiron who was ordering for more help on the defensive end. "Annabeth? What are you doing here? Where is the baby?" asked Chiron. He was in his centaur form in full battle armor with a bow and arrows strapped to his back and in his hand was a battle axe. He looked menacing with his war gear on.

"Where is Percy?" I asked. "And Jason" chimed in Piper. "Um, Jason is currently in the air, he just led an attack from the south and Percy, well that's hard to say" said Chiron. Piper nodded then ran off. "What do you mean?" I asked getting more and more scared. "He led the first attack, he could be anywhere on that battlefield" said Chiron sounding very stressed. I knew I was distracting him from other important things so I just nodded. "Thank you" I said before running off as well.

I ran to the hill where I found Thalia who was in the middle of shooting down some monster. From behind her, I saw a monster creeping up that she clearly didn't see. "Thalia!" I screamed taking out my dagger. She must not have heard me because she continued shooting over the hill. I sprinted towards her and just as the monster lifted his axe over his head to strike, I jumped on his back, Leo style.

Thalia whirled around and looked at us with wide eyes. I stabbed it in the shoulder but it didn't seem to do anything. "Little help" I grimaced as the monster tried to shake me off. It was like riding a freaking bull. Thalia strung back her bow and let go, hitting it right between the eyes, well, the center of the four eyes.

Right before the body fell to the ground, I jumped off. Thalia frowned. "Percy is not going to be happy" she said. "Oh your welcome for killing that monster that was about to slice your head off, your such a good friend Annabeth" I said giving her a look. "Sorry, but I do believe that it was me who killed the monster and I'm serious" she said as she took another arrow from her pouch then aimed right for my head.

I thought she was going to hit me but the arrow whizzed past my face and hit something behind me. "Your welcome" she said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes. "Have you seen Percy?" I said stabbing the next monster that had crept up behind her from over Thalia's shoulder. "Yeah, he just brought up another body. Some Apollo kid. I think he ran back into the fight.

I looked over to the battle field. The second I saw the sheer mass of the fight, I was astounded. This was bigger than anything we have ever fought before. Blood was all over, along with monster dust. Bodies of creatures and demigods laid all around, either groaning softly or silent. I saw a few body parts as well as people without them. I was horrified. How in Hades are we supposed to win this thing?

"I know" Thalia muttered softly in my ear. I looked at her. She was wearing gold armor with a lightning bolt over the breast plate. She was missing her helmet and her face was covered in dirt and blood. Her eyes held anger and pain. Her eyes were those of war. "I think Percy went to find Octavian" she said with a hard expression on her face. I opened my mouth to thank her but she stopped me. "Annabeth, be careful. Don't let that baby grow up alone. Don't let him grow up like us" she said. I just nodded then took off running towards the fight.

Dodging monster after monster, I sprinted through the fight. My only goal was to find Percy. Pain sparked in my left shoulder. I turned to find some sort of snake headed being had hit me. I swiftly took its head off without a second thought and kept running. After getting hit more than once, and quickly eliminating whatever had the nerve to attack me. I found him.

He was covered in dirt and blood. His helmet was gone along with other random parts of his armor. Swear bead his forehead as he attacked a young demigod no older than 15 who wore red robes. I saw that he had a black eye as well as a rather large gash on his forehead. From the looks of the demigod he was fighting, Percy could have taken this kid in less than 5 seconds but I noticed that Percy was playing defense. It's one thing to kill a monster, it's another to kill one of your own kind.

"Please, stop!" screamed Percy at the kid. "Never!" cried the kid. Percy grit his teeth as he stepped to the side to avoid the kids attack. I watched as Percy disarmed the kid and put him in a choke hold. Percy knelt down and whispered something to the kid then let go. He then dropped the Riptide and extended his arms, the kid held his own sword and looked like he was about to attack but something stopped him. He dropped his sword then crumpled to the ground. Percy sighed in relief then went to help the kid. He pulled him up, taking off the kids red robe in the process. "Run to our camp! Find Chiron! Tell him your story!" I heard him scream. The kid nodded then Percy handed him his sword. The kid thanked Percy than ran off.

Once he was gone, Percy looked up and his eyes caught mine. At once, we both ran towards each other and just as we were about to meet, a loud "BOOM" came from the ground. A massive crack in the ground formed. The whole battle stopped and quieted down.

Suddenly, a laugh came from inside the crack. Smoke rose and filled the air, a figure stepped out of the crack. It was a woman from the looks of it. She was in a white toga and had her hair in an elegant fish-tail braid to the side with feathers and beaded woven in it. It was Gaea.

"Annabeth Jackson, what a pleasure" she said with a smirk. Her voice boomed throughout the entire battle field. She turned around and faced Percy. "And you, Percy" she said before she turned back to me. "I have come to make a deal" she slurred. She began walking towards me, every step thundering against the ground. As she came closer, I looked over to Percy who was slowly trying to make his way over to me without her noticing.

All the sudden, she whirled around. "Oh stop that stupid child. Just walk, stop creeping around. Come here" she commanded glaring at Percy. He just looked at me, then walked over to us. Just before he was an arms length away, Gaea held her hand up. "Thats close enough" she said moving between us.

"You said there was a deal" I said glaring at her. She smiled sickly. "Who would have thought that your daughter of Athena" she said rolling her deep black eyes. "The deal" I pressed. She groaned. "Fine, the deal. Any ways, I am not strong enough, nor will I ever be to take over the world thank you Leo" she said looking up at the sky where the Argo II was soaring above.

"I do on the other hand have the power to make someone's life miserable and what former ruler of the world doesn't want that?" she said sounding way to chipper. "I have decided to make that person you" Gaea pointed to me. "Why Annabeth?" asked Percy taking a step forward.

Gaea whipped her head and glared at Percy. She held her glare but quickly, her face softened. "To be perfectly honest, I pulled her name out of a hat" she said with a smirk. She looked back at me. "Back to the deal. You pick one" she said to me. "Through door number one, the battle comenses and I kill everyone in the entire camp including you, but, Percy and your little poop machine live on" she said.

I heard gasps all throughout the crowd. "What's next?" I asked quietly. "Through door number two, the gods will be freed from my clutches but, I send your child down to Tartarus, alone" she said. Suddenly, a puff of black smoke came out of no where. Once it cleared, I saw a cage with a man in it. It took me a moment until I realized it was Nico with Charlie. "Annabeth, I'm so sorry" he yelled, holding Charlie who was crying. "No!" screamed Percy. He lunged for her but she quickly held up a hand and grabbed his neck. She held him up with one arm, holding him by his neck. Percy struggled to get free but to no avail.

"Percy!" I screamed but Gaea gripped tighter. "Don't take another step" she said glaring at me. I nodded, tears welling in my eyes. "Through door number three, everyone lives, my army retreats and all in the camp survives including you and the gods go free" she smiled devilishly.

"What's the catch?" I asked, terrified it would be something horrible. "I kill Percy, slowly and painfully while you and your child watch". I gasped. I knew I couldn't kill the entire camp, that was too many lives. So it came down to my baby or Percy. "Choose!" she screamed gripping Percy's neck even harder. "No!" I screamed. "Annabeth" Percy gasped. I tried to step forward but Gaea glared at me. "Choose me" he choked out.

"Please don't do this!" I begged as tears began to fall down my face. "You have 5 seconds" she sneered. I looked over to Charlie who was still crying. "Fine!" I screamed. Gaea smiled. "I choose number three, but, I get 5 minutes alone with Percy and my son before anything happens to Percy" I said firmly.

Gaea's smiled dropped and she raised an eyebrow. "Door number three it is" she said. She let go of Percy then snapped her fingers, everything went black.

* * * * * * * * * *
Percy

I woke up in Charlie's nursery. I was on the floor and Charlie was crying. I stood up and went to his crib. He was laying in there so I picked him up, careful to support his head, I gently rocked him. "Percy?" I heard Annabeth say. I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. She looked beautiful as ever. She walked over and held my face in her hand. She began to weep silently. I took my free hand and wiped away some of the tears. "Shh, I'm here now" I said softly.

Once Charlie was asleep, I laid him back down in his crib. Annabeth looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. "How am I going to raise him on my own?" she asked weakly. I pulled her in and held her closely. If these really were my last few moments, I wanted them to be with my wife and my son. "You will never be alone. I will always be watching. I promise" I whispered as I combed through her hair with my hands.

I was still in my armor from the battlefield and probably covered in blood, dirt and sweat but honestly, I didn't care. I pulled away and looked into her deep grey eyes. They were like black holes pulling me in but something was different about her's. Her eyes now held pain and anger. But mostly, she looked lost.

She closed her eyes for a second and I leaned forward. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her stronger and more loving than I have ever done in my entire life. There was something different about this kiss, about the way our lips moved or the way our hearts beat as one. This was a goodbye kiss.

Just then, I felt it. A sharp horrible pain cut through my insides. I pulled back and screamed in pain. Annabeth stepped back, trying to see what was wrong. I heard Charlie begin to cry as I crumpled to the floor. Annabeth fell down on her knees, sobbing. "Percy, no!" she screamed. I closed my eyes and screamed. The pain was unbearable and it wouldn't stop. I rolled over and curled up in a ball.

"Percy please don't go!" Annabeth sobbed. I tried so hard to control it and eventually, my body went numb. I laid there, still, eyes wide as I stared at Annabeth. "I love you" she said touching my face. I blinked back the tears on my face. "I love you so much" I choked out.

She put my head on her lap and I could hear her heart beating so fast. She rocked me back and forth. Slowly, my vision blurred into nothingness along with the noises all around me. Then, everything was white.

***Sooooo, y'all probably hate me right now. To answer your question, yes, Percy is dead. Gone. Passed on. Went to the farm. Killed. In the ground. Kicked the bucket. However you want to say it, yes, he dead son. So, I know you all hate me and frankly, that's okay with me because there is never a happy ending for a demigod. Don't worry though, there are still like 10 more chapters left so Annabeth makes it and what kind of a person would I be if I killed off baby Charlie. That would be just plain cruel. Anywho, comment what you think will happen to Annabeth. Hope y'all enjoyed this short but incredibly painful chapter. -Izzy