Mortals meet Percabeth (and others)

Frank Power AU

Hey guys! Final one shot in my Power AU series (Phew, it has been a long ride) you guys have given this series a lot of love and even though it has been heartbreaking at times -- most of the time. You've always wanted more and I wanted to say thank you so much for that, to be honest I didn't think this series (or book as a whole) would get as big as it did and I really just want to say thank you for that

You made this book what it is, so get some tissues and enjoy.

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Frank Powers AU

NO MIST

Frank didn't remember the last time he had had legs -- human legs that were, he had been some kind of animal for the last few months unable to shapeshift back to being a human. Any time he would try he would end up being a strange combination of two or more animals, his favourite animal to be and the animal that he seemed unable to shapeshift out of (even into another animal) at the moment was a bear

It was a strange sight even for demigods who were quite accustomed to the strange and supernatural where a boy once had the power to control the ocean (they still missed their hero, friend and confidant every single day, the pain of his death never really healed with anyone in the Camp) and a girl who could once disappear into thin air when she adorns a Yankie cap 

But a big grizzly brown bear atop of a hill, sleeping the majority of the time across from a dragon was definitely a strange sight especially when that brown bear used to be one of the seven heroes that saved the world against Mother Earth

Frank could feel the energy he once had, slowly slipping away little by little every day as he became less human and more like the animal he was inhabiting. Most days he would sleep all day, only waking when he found himself hungry and sometimes not even then as every day he would take more and more the daily routine of a bear. One winter, he almost slept through the whole winter and he was sure by the time winter howled its way through this year, squeezing the life out of everything that happened to cling on throughout autumn, he would end up sleeping the whole winter

He never thought that life would take a turn the way it did, he supposed if he was going to die then it'd be by his stick and it'd be whittled down to nothing but ash. Though he never expected life to turn out this way anyway, that their powers went haywire and started draining them of their energy and physically hurting them and sometimes ended up killing them

Of course, he was talking about Percy Jackson, the boy who was barely an adult and tragically taken too young by forces that were out of his control. It was true that the children of the Big Three didn't live long due to how tasty they were to monsters, but Percy was able to survive it and multiple quests as well as two wars

Only to be taken by the one thing he thought was helping him and other people: The one thing he had no control over and got from his father -- his powers -- they blistered his lungs and made it harder and harder for him to breathe until he just couldn't anymore and his body gave out and with his body giving up, the world lost one of the brightest heroes they didn't even know they had 

And perhaps the saddest thing was that the son of war didn't know about the other deaths or tragedies that had befallen his friends. He didn't know that Piper had been mauled by a faceless monster or that his own girlfriend had been driven crazy by hallucinations or that Nico had taken his own life in order to get away from the pain of becoming a shadow...Frank didn't know any of this and perhaps that was his curse

He just simply existed as everything happened around him 

It wasn't a life anymore...He wasn't living but he wasn't dead either, he was simply existing and sleeping most of the time in his bear form sometimes having enough energy to shift into another creature but never having enough energy to shift into his human form again...It was weird but he could feel himself slowly slipping away. Second by second, day by day and becoming less and less human and more and more beastly 

His massive head snapped up when he heard someone coming, carrying a big joint of  meat in their arms and they approach him slowly and careful like they were scared he was going to attack them and Frank bowed his head, trying to show the camper that he meant no harm but all the camper did was throw the piece of meat onto the ground before scurrying back towards the heart of Camp Half-Blood

Frank let out a growl as he lowered his head to the ground and curled into himself, he was tired and just wanted to be left alone. People thought of him as a beast and his heart ached at the thought, it was bad enough he was the son of the God of War where was is what killed his mother and he didn't think that the something evil that took his mom could also be his father 

It took him a long time to square with that debt

And now people look at him the same way he used to view his father as some kind of monster, a beast more than a man, someone who destroys things and takes what he wants without asking. That's what pained him the most, the fact that people were casting their judgements on him without really knowing him

It was true, the seven heroes that the demigod world held in such high regard had fallen from grace, tales of triumph and glory twisted into ones of pity, guilt and sadness. Each hero robbed of their childhood way before they should've and the mark of the Gods staining their lives when they were as innocent as a baby and could do little more than lift their head up

Percy had to lead two wars and still didn't get the happy ending he deserved

Piper had finally found a place where she belonged, only to be driven away 

Annabeth had been diven crazy by her desire to be perfect 

Hazel couldn't live with the guilt of what happen to Piper

Jason couldn't be the perfect son, friend or brother and so he fell from grace 

Leo got burns all over his body from the one thing he couldn't stand

Nico couldn't live with the pain of being alive anymore

And Frank well he became a beast

All these heroes that their demigod world held in such high regard had fallen from grace, tales of triumph and glory twisted into ones of pity, guilt and sadness. Each hero robbed of their childhood way before they should've and the mark of the Gods staining their lives when they were as innocent as a baby and could do little more than lift their head up

And all the Gods did was laugh at their pain.