Downhill. That was where the battle was going. Gaea had been put to sleep once again, however, it was at the cost of Leo's life. Despite her defeat, there was still a horde of monsters, each more determined to avenge their mistress than the last.

Arachne's children had joined the fight as well. There was a swarm of spiders across the battlefield, ranging from minuscule to the size of a dog. The smaller ones crawled across Percy's body, biting wherever there was visible skin. He wanted nothing more than to shake them off; the feather-light legs caused chills to run down his spine. Nonetheless, he couldn't afford the distraction. He was focused on the fight in front of him.

In his subconscious, he registered his friends falling in battle. Their unconscious bodies were quickly transported to the safe zone that the children of Apollo had managed to secure.

Eventually, he made his way to Annabeth, the only other member of the Seven still standing. They stood back to back, fighting the shrinking army of monsters. He had just impaled an empousa when Annabeth whirled around and stabbed a dracanae that was about to attack him.

"Just like the Titan War all over again," she called as she turned and continued fighting.

Percy's sword clashed with the shaft of another empousa's spear. He grunted as the force caused him to stumble, allowing the monster to slash his shoulder. He hissed in pain before responding, "You and I remember the Titan War very differently."

As much as he wanted to stay by Annabeth's side, the two were separated as the chaos of the battle continued. Time started to blur as Percy moved through the motions of each fight. Dodge, parry, thrust, repeat. His body was on autopilot as he moved through the legion of monsters. He found himself fighting beside Thalia and Nico. The trio moved like a hurricane, their unique powers complimenting each other, and decimating the monsters in their path.

The sun was setting as they faced the last monster on the battlefield, a drakon. Thalia called down a bolt of lightning while Percy summoned a wave, the familiar tug in his gut causing the drakon to be doused in water that puddled at its feet. Nico covered them in shadows, confusing the monster. The combination of water and lightning caused the drakon to be electrocuted and it spasmed as arcs of electricity traveled through its muscles.

The creature stumbled to its feet and trampled the ground as it tried to reorient itself. The cousins took advantage of the drakon's confusion and charged at it. Thalia was standing to the side of the monster's face, avoiding its poisonous breath as she clanged her spear to her shield. The loud noise disoriented the monster further, which proved to be fatal as Percy scaled up the side of its body, the bumps and ridges providing footholds for him to use. He drove the point of his sword into the soft part of the drakon's skull. The monster roared in pain and reared up, almost knocking Percy off. Nico, who had been standing on the other side of its head, took the opportunity to slide underneath of the drakon. His sword carved into the unprotected underbelly of the beast like a knife through warm butter.

The drakon dissolved into yellow powder, leaving its hard outer shell behind. Percy slid down the side of the shell as Nico crawled out from underneath it. Thalia was waiting for them as they finally caught their breath.

"We did it," Nico breathed before he collapsed to the ground. He was pale and his face was gaunt, skin stretching tightly across his face.

Thalia and Percy rushed to his side and picked him up, supporting his weight between the two of them. They were both worried about their cousin, who looked too close to death, even for a child of Hades. "What happened to him?" Thalia asked as they made their way to the infirmary.

"He's been using his powers too much. He shadow-traveled half-way across the world and then immediately started fighting a battle with over a thousand monsters." Percy informed her. His entire body was aching and he wanted nothing more than to find Annabeth before taking a nap for the next ten years.

There was a comfortable silence as Percy and Thalia focused on getting to the infirmary. Once they were inside they were immediately approached by Will Solace. The son of Apollo's eyes went wide in worry once he saw Nico's limp frame. He looked like he was about to drop everything to attend to Nico before he refocused.

"Austin," he called. His brother walked out of a nearby room. He had a grim look on his face, though almost everyone in the infirmary shared the expression. He quickly made his way to Nico and took him from Percy and Thalia. He walked away without a word, making his way into another room.

Percy and Thalia watched their cousin and exchanged a worried look. They were about to follow after him but Will stopped them. His tone was somber when he said, "You're going to need to follow me."

"What happened?" Percy asked, already fearing the worst. He wondered which of his friends he'd have to mourn next.

"It's bad," Will started, struggling to find the words. "She was fighting the chimera and it managed to injure her with its claws before biting her. The poison has already wrecked her system. We... we tried everything we could to save her. My father even tried to help but it's too late. I'm sorry."

Thalia grabbed onto Will's arm, shaking him roughly. She had unshed tears in her eyes. She already knew who he was talking about but she needed confirmation. "Who? Who are you talking about?"

Percy had frozen. His blood was roaring in his ears and he could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest. Will gestured helplessly to the room that Austin had come out of. Percy rushed to the room but stopped at the doorway, unable to move.

Thalia shoved past him and stopped in the middle of the room. There, on the bed, was Annabeth. Her torso was bandaged and there was a red splotch of blood that stood in stark contrast against the white gauze. There was too much red. It was spreading across the bandages like a tidal wave. Percy felt sick at the analogy and had to stop himself from throwing up.

Thalia let out a choked sob, garnering Annabeth's attention. She weakly turned her head to the side and gave a small, sad smile. Thalia staggered to her bedside and kneeled down. She clutched Annabeth's hand like it was a lifeline. Annabeth weakly squeezed her hand. "Hey, Thals."

Thalia gave her little sister a watery smile. "Hey, Annie. You're going to be fine, okay? Because it's not your time to go yet." She let out a sob. "You're not allowed to go yet. I won't let you."

"We both know that we have no control over that," Annabeth said gently. A tear rolled down her cheek but she didn't have the strength to wipe it off. "I'm going to miss you the most after this. You'll always be my family."

Thalia had to stifle another sob as she realized she wouldn't see Annabeth for at least another few centuries. She gave a shaky laugh that was more for Annabeth's sake than anything else. "When you see Luke down there, be sure to punch him for me."

Annabeth started to laugh but it turned into a coughing fit. It sounded painful and wet and it took a few minutes to subside. "What, no hugs?"

"Maybe one, but only after you've punched him," Thalia conceded. The moment passed and Thalia had to blink back tears. "I love you, Annabeth."

"I love you too, Thalia," Annabeth said. It was a goodbye between two sisters in their small, found family.

Thalia stood up and walked to the back of the room. She took a seat in a chair by the door. Kayla, another child of Apollo, came in to bandage her wounds but Thalia waved her off. All that mattered was being there for Annabeth.

Percy slowly approached Annabeth, hoping that it was all just a horrible nightmare and he would wake up to Annabeth knocking on his cabin door, alive and uninjured.

It wasn't a nightmare though, it was the even worse reality. He kneeled down by her bedside and caressed a hand against her cheek. He had silent tears streaming down his face as he stared at his girlfriend. "Hey, Wise Girl."

"Hey, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth had to pause as another bout of coughing took over her body. She hunched over in pain once she was finally done.

"I'm sorry," Percy started to apologize. "I should have been there-"

"Hey," Annabeth cut him off, "You were exactly where you needed to be." Her tone was reassuring and left no room for argument.

"I can't do this. What am I supposed to do without you?" Percy asked desperately.

"We both knew that this would happen eventually, Percy. We're demigods, the chances of us actually living past twenty were almost non-existent," Annabeth tried to placate him.

"But... we could've done it. We could have moved to New Rome and gone to college there and gotten married and..." Percy trailed off. He slammed his fist into the frame of the bed in fury. He clenched his eyes shut and leaned his head against Annabeth's lap. He whispered brokenly, "We should have... it isn't fair."

She gently ran her hands through his hair. "I know, Seaweed Brain, I know it's not. But have our lives ever been fair?"

Percy shook his head helplessly. He leaned up and pressed their foreheads together. "I love you," he whispered into the space that the two of them existed in alone together.

"I love you, too," Annabeth whispered back, her voice breaking. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was like drinking from the Phlegethon all over again. Annabeth's lips were chapped and Percy doubted his were much better. The moment seared itself into his memory. The smell of antiseptic from the infirmary, the feel of Annabeth's hair under his hand, the taste of her lips as they pressed against his. It was the culmination of five years of friendship, loyalty, and love compressed into one kiss. When they parted, they were both breathing raggedly.

"What do you need?" Percy whispered against the crook of her neck.

"Stay with me?" Annabeth asked breathlessly.

"Always," Percy promised. He climbed into the small bed and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He could feel the unsteady rise and fall of her chest as she struggled to breath. They sat there as the sun set, the light fading across the horizon. Annabeth's breaths became more spaced out until they stopped completely and she went still in Percy's arms. He gripped her tighter and sobbed into her shoulder. He was vaguely aware of Thalia stumbling out of the room as a few children of Apollo rushed in.

They tried to coax him away from her body, her corpse, but he refused to let go. He felt rather than saw his father as he walked into the room. There was an increase in the smell of salt water in the air and it almost made him sick. He choked back the bile that rose in his throat. Annabeth was counting on him, he couldn't fail.

His father walked up to the bed and pried him off of Annabeth. He started kicking and flailing in an attempt to escape his grasp. He could feel the Earth tremor in response to his emotions and some part of his subconscious registered the fact that he should probably stop before he accidentally hurt anyone. It was a small part of him, however, and he continued to scream and thrash as his father tried to pull him out of the room.

Using his last burst of adrenaline, he wrenched himself out of his father's arms and ran back into the room before collapsing to his knees in exhaustion. The effects of the battle had caught up with him and he could feel himself losing consciousness"I can't leave her. Not again," he tried to explain but his voice was hoarse from screaming. "I can't..." He didn't get to finish his sentence before he fell unconscious, black invading his vision until it was all he knew. 

This is my first story so I hope you guys like it!

Edit 6/25/19 - I'm rewriting the first six chapters of the story to fix some plot holes and make the story better. The gist of the story is the same so you don't HAVE to reread it but I would because there are more details and it's better than what was written before.

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