The Years After (Percabeth fanfic)

19. Search For The Cure

Percy

Everything hurt. The voices were gone and I sat in darkness. Over time, I was able to locate certain parts of my body that hurt the most. My left leg, several ribs, my left hip, my right shoulder, my head but what hurt the most was my heart. It ached for Annabeth and Charlie. I wanted nothing more than to hold Charlie one more time or to kiss Annabeth once more.

The only comfort I had was when Nico summoned me, the pain had subsided then and I would move and talk. I knew Nico would take care of my family when I couldn't. He had always been loyal.

As I sat in the darkness, I began to wonder where I was. Nico had said it might take a little bit but I had felt like month since then but I had been drifting in and out of consciousness do who knows, it could be only a matter of minutes since I had died.

All the sudden, I could hear voices again. The same ones as last time plus another.

"We are loosing him, it is only a matter of time before there is nothing else we can do" said Athena.

"I have tried everything, we are running out of options" said the new voice.

"Apollo, there most be something in your bag of tricks" said Poseidon.

"I am sorry. I wish I did. I can't even heal his broken bones" said Apollo.

Well that explains why everything hurts.

"Athena, we have to tell her" said Poseidon.

"No, it will destroy her if she ever found out and on top of that, I don't think she will ever forgive us" Athena said sourly.

"Annabeth needs to know, she might be able to help" urged my father. It helped to know that he was on Annabeth's side in this whole thing.

"No, if he does pass, we will return the body and act as though we no nothing, if he does live, we will figure it out then" said Athena.

Slowly, the voices began to fade away then, I was left in silence.

* * * * * * * * * *
Annabeth

Reyna pressed the button that would lead us to the 600th floor. We all took our fighting positions, ready to attack the second the doors opened.

"My best bet would be that he is in the gods chambers, we should check Poseidon and Athena first seeing as though, they would know Percy best" whispered Nico. "Good thinking, I know where Poseidon is, we should go there first" I said. The others all nodded.

The doors "dinged" then we all jumped out. No one was there. We sprinted quickly and quietly, following Jason. Jason and I were in the front with Reyna taking up the rear.

We made it past the throne room without any disturbances. The gods only met when they needed too, since most of them didn't really like one another so for the vast majority of the time, no one was in the gods places.

I knew Olympus like the back of my hand, after all I did design it. I took the quickest and most unpopulated routes. We saw some minors gods but they didn't pay any attention to us, they were to busy doing other things. "So self-involved" I thought as we sprinted past them.

Pretty soon, we made it to Poseidon's lair. I checked my watch. 9 hours and 50 minutes. I gulped, that was not a lot of time. I pray to gods that they had found a cure, which was pretty hard to do considering that they didn't have a body to work on.

Reyna signaled that her and I would go in first, Nico would stand guard and Jason would attack when signaled. Reyna slipped inside, with me right behind her.

The room was huge, easily the size of two or tree gymnasiums and it smelled like the ocean. On the far wall was a massive throne and a holster on the wall made for a trident. At the center of the room, there was a large Olympic size pool with dozens of fish and other sea creatures swimming around in it. On the east wall was a bug fish tank filled with sharks of all kinds.

We sprinted across the room to the throne where beside it was a back room. I peeked my head inside to find a bed and dresser with a fountain in the corner, but no one in the room. "Any sign of him?" asked Reyna. I shook my head so we headed back outside.

"No luck?" asked Nico timidly. Reyna and I both shook our heads. Nico nodded softly then turned away. "Follow me, let's try my mothers lair" I said softly, trying to to sound as disappointed as I really was. "We will find him" said Jason giving me a pat on the bat. I smiled at him and we got back on the road.

The gods lairs were thankfully all along the same stretch, in order. None of the gods seemed to be home. Once we got to Athena's place, we stopped.

I took a deep breath, if Percy isn't here, we may never find him in time. I checked my watch once more. 9 and a half hours left. I gulped, that was not a lot of time. We did the same positioning as last time only this time, Reyna followed me.

My mother's lair was my personal favorite, and probably the one I out the most amount of time in. In the center of the room was half a sphere with a projected image inside, showing any battle scene, or place in all of time and space. Each wall was filled with books and scrolls. There was a massive desk with a computer on it in the far corner. The high ceilings had suspenders hanging on them so messenger owls could land.

Once again, no one was in the front room so we sprinted to the back area. When we got close to the door, we heard voices.

"We have to tell Annabeth" said a mans voice.

"No, what do you know Oyster boy? He has hours left, if that. It will hurt her even more" said a familiar voice.

It took me a moment, but I realized it was my mother and Poseidon speaking.

"I can concur that Percy has hours left, then it is all up to the fates" said another mans voice, this time slightly higher and softer. It sounded like Apollo.

Why were they talking about me? Was Percy in there? If Apollo was in there, and he couldn't save Percy, what chances did we have of saving him? A million questions swirled around in my head, all of which could be answered if I walked through that door. Reyna nudged me and I looked at her. I nodded then Reyna gave Jason the signal. We both walked in the room, weapons ready.

I looked around. The three gods stood over a bed but I couldn't see who was in it. They hadn't seemed to notice us until Reyna cleared her throat. All turned around at once, ready to attack.

"Annabeth" breathed my mother, clearly shocked. Apollo had an apologetic look on his face and Poseidon just looked so sad. "Where is he?" I said through my teeth, glaring at all of them.

They all looked at one another then stepped aside showing who was on the bed. I stared down at the horrific scene before me.

He was laying there, eyes shut. He had a black eye along with a huge gash across his forehead. His left leg was in a big white cast and he had another cast on his right shoulder. He was covered in cuts and bruises. He was only wearing a pair of shorts so his chest had bruising all over it.

I stepped forward reaching out to touch him. It had been so long since I had seen him. For the longest time I thought this was it. I didn't know what to do, being with him felt so unnatural. I wanted so badly to just reach out and kiss him but I was so afraid that if I touched him, it would kill him.

"Go ahead, you can touch him, just be gentle" whispered Apollo. I nodded slightly and touched his left shoulder with my index finger. Slowly, I bent down and kissed the top of his head, just as he would always do to me. I sat down on the chair next to the bed and reached for his hand.

"Can he hear me?" I choked out. "I don't know, but it couldn't hurt to try" said Apollo. "We will give you a minute" said Poseidon. Everyone shuffled out of the room.

"Percy" I whispered brushing the hair out of his face softly. I tried my best to hold back the tears. Not once had I cried since he had past, not one time. I wanted so badly to smack him upside the head for being so stupid. Why was he so stupid? Why did he have to do that?

"I want you, only you. I tried, I really did but I don't think I can do this alone" I choked out, squeezing his hand softly. "I love you so much, you stupid, stubborn, seaweed brained, ignorant, hero of a man" I whispered. I swear to gods, right then, I felt him squeeze back. It was small and delicate but I felt it.

"Apollo!" I screamed. He came running in, followed closely by Athena and Poseidon. "What's wrong? What happened" he said coming over and examining Percy. "H-he moved!" I gasped. Athena and Poseidon gave each other sad looks. They didn't believe me.

Apollo was staring at Percy, right at his chest with the most intense look. "You might be right" he gasped. "Of course she is right" said a voice. We all turned around to see Aphrodite laying down on the large chair in the corner in a rather sexual way.

We all gaped at her, completely stunned. "Arn't you forgetting the most effective healer of all?" she said with a smirk. Apollo rolled his eyes. "Not this again" he muttered. "Oh come on, want to take any guesses? How about you smarty pants Athena? Or you Kelp for brains? No? I'll tell you what it is. Love" she said with a huge smile.

She hopped off her bum and waltzed over to Percy and I. "Love him, tell him how much you love him, surround him by the people he truly loves. His family" she said softly motioning to me. "How on earth am I supposed to do that?" I said.

"Everybody out! If your name is not Annabeth get out!" screeched Aphrodite. The gods looked at each other then left, heads down. "That's better, now, don't mind me, just tell Percy what you feel" she urged going back to her chair.

I looked back at Percy, or what was left of him. I squeezed his hand. "I love you Percy, I always have, I always will" I muttered, trying to make it low enough that Aphrodite wouldn't hear even though it was kind of useless. "Please don't leave me again, please don't leave, stay, stay with me. You can be with me and Charlie and everyone else, we can grow old together, as long as we are together, please come back" I said, tearing up again.

"Let it out, show him how much it hurts" Aphrodite said. I closed my eyes and let go, all the tears I kept bottled up for 4 months fell from my eyes. I poured my heart and soul out as I sobbed. Never have I ever felt thing vulnerable.

This time, his eyes fluttered just for a moment. I squeezed his hand once more as he squeezed back. I felt him fighting, he wanted to wake up, I knew it. "Percy, wake up, please" I cried, laying my head on his chest, staining it with my tears.

"Kiss him" whispered Aphrodite. I lifted my head to look at his wounded face. I leaned close, and our lips touched for the first time in forever. I was home here. It was short and it was sweet, but it was perfect.

I pulled away to look at him. Just when I thought he wasn't going to ever move, he opened his eyes halfway. I saw those sea green eyes that I had missed so much. I kissed him again and again and again. "Annabeth" I heard him barely whisper.

"I'm here Percy, I'm right here" I sobbed as I held the side of his face. "Miss me?" he said with a slight grin. "Oh gods I hate you" I said laughing through my tears.

***Hey guys! Merry Christmas Eve! I really hope y'all are liking this, we are nearing the ending! Aren't we all happy that Percy is back (for now muhahaha). Any who, I never would have thought that I could reach 167 reads, this is insane! I am so happy, I know this fandom is dying a little bit since the last book came out but still, this is amazing. I love reading y'all comments and stuff, it's totally awesome. Hope you guys enjoy your Christmas or whatever crazy holiday y'all celebrate! -Izzy