So this is the rewritten version of my current Home Is Where The Heart(h) Is. Without spoiling anything, I do you enjoy this monster of a chapter. I hope I can sustain this length throughout, and hopefully the planning I've put into this is sufficient.
Enjoy!
"No?" Zeus growled. "We do not give this opportunity to anyone. You would refuse our generous offer?"
Anyone. That referred to the hundreds of demigods, healthy or injured, that stood in the throne room along with Percy. That referred to the many bodies of the dead that littered the streets of New York. It talked about Ethan Nakamura, who made his last choice and died a hero, not a traitor of Olympus, or Silena Beauregard, who charged into battle to defend her friends, redeeming her from her past actions. Most of all, the common title applied to Luke Castellan, the hero of the Great Prophecy, who died to bring Kronos down, making the ultimate sacrifice.
Were these people anyone? It seemed like such an insult. While Percy was alive from the blessing of the Styx, they were as mortal and vulnerable as any other demigod, and yet the courage displayed rivalled his.
The term was shallow. Each and everyone of the people who fought for Olympus was as heroic as he. And yet he was the only one given the choice to ascend.
He knew what he wanted. Luke's last words sealed his decision.
"Yes."
There was a quick exchange of glances between the Olympians. Poseidon spoke up, "Perseus, you understand what you're giving up?"
"Yes, and I have other requests I would like to put forth, but I need the council to swear on the Styx first."
"What?" Ares bellowed. "You don't trust us?"
"Someone once told me." Percy looked at Hades meaningfully, "That you should always get a binding oath."
Hades grinned.
Zeus' brow twitched. "Very well. You may speak them."
"I wish that all gods claim their children by the time they become of age."
Murmuring broke out within the crowd behind him. The gods fidgeted in their seats. He pressed further.
"Kronos couldn't have rose to power if not for the demigods that joined his side. The ones that felt alone and unloved by their godly parent, because they never knew about that side of them. Next, the minor gods should be pardoned —"
"That is not your decision —" Zeus cut in, his tone loudening.
"As well as given a cabin at camp for their children. Hades, too." Percy interrupted coolly.
Hades raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Next, no more oath of the Big Three. That wasn't working out anyway."
Static paralyzed the air. Three requests, he had brought forth. He was amazed he hadn't been rejected or blasted to ashes. He could feel the stares of the people behind him prickling his skin.
"Anything else?" Zeus' tone was dangerous.
"That's all."
The gods were silent before Athena said, "The boy is right."
All eyes turned to her. "Really, Athena? You're defending him?" Apollo said with a hint of incredulity.
"I am the wisdom goddess. We must change. We allowed Kronos to almost win because of our negligence. This cannot happen again."
There was a general murmur of assent. "All in favour?" Hermes called.
Everyone but Zeus raised their hands. He grumbled, "Very well. Let what you said be done. The Council swears on the Styx."
Thunder rumbled, as it always had, whenever an oath was made. But this...this was louder.
The funerals were brief. Pyres were burnt simultaneously, eulogies were read with a rushed pace, the reincarnations of the nature spirits were laid to rest in the grove. Percy sat through them mechanically. Names of the dead flowed like the Cocytus. Silena, Michael, others.
Luke wasn't named. The story that circulating around the camp was that Luke was killed by Kronos. Only Annabeth, Grover and the Olympians knew what had truly happened.
Ethan wasn't named either. The thought of that soured Percy.
The demigods took turns walking up to the pyres to make their last wishes to the dead. When it was his turn, he thought, I'm sorry. He stood there for a while, unable to formulate the thoughts he wanted to tell them, if they were listening. There were too many of them, his mind heavy with guilt and grief.
He walked away. For the rest of the ceremony, he had a sudden empathy with Atlas. It was only when he saw there were only a handful of people staying around the pyres that he realised it was over.
He heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn around.
"You alright?" Annabeth's voice stirred him from his reverie. He didn't respond. She took a seat beside him, sighing. "I'm sorry, that's a stupid question."
"Yeah, it is." Percy's voice sounded hollow, even to himself.
She squeezed his hand tightly. "Don't blame yourself for them. It's what we do, it's our life."
He turned to face her, and her eyes met his with evident concern. She looked well-rested. Her injuries were healed. Apollo's magic and ambrosia seemed to help greatly.
"Thanks." He tried for a smile, but it faded like the heat from cinders when dropped in water.
"Anytime."
Percy wanted to say something, say anything.
He abruptly stood up. "I need to go. Sleep. I – I'll see you in the morning, Annabeth."
Without looking back, he left briskly towards his cabin. Towards the sea. He dove inside without the slightest hesitation when he got there, and instantly, the warmth of his dad's domain enveloped him like a pillow. His breathing became slower, calmer, like the waves that washed against the beach. He closed his eyes and breathed.
He had been hyperventilating, it seemed. He wasn't sure why. His mind was too clouded with the events that had taken place. No one should have to experience all of that in a day. He tried to find a reason for his unwellness. Nothing. I – I think.
Gods damn it, he thought angrily. Why was he angry? Who was he angry at? More thoughts. More chaos in his head. More breaths. Make...make it stop.
The currents were carrying him. They were restless because of him. Because of him? He had heard that term being thrown around a lot like a grenade from the Hephaestus Cabin. Deaths. Beckendorf. His fault. Because of him.
Oh gods. The water was closing in on him. It swirled like a torrent, churning him like he was back at Charybdis' lair. Tossing him around. The water surged onto him. It felt ice cold. So cold. He gasped. He was drowning. Him, drowning. Me.
"Percy!" He heard someone shriek, before something entered the water. A dark figure plunged beside him, arms outstretched, trying to grab him.
No! He tried to draw Riptide, but the figure had wrapped his arms together. He struggled, bubbles rising from the dark depths, blinding him. He couldn't. See.
They broke over the surface of the water, gasping. He shook his head fiercely. "Let me go!" He shouted, drinking in more of the water.
"Percy! It's me! Annabeth! Annabeth Chase!" The figure yelled. He stopped fighting, before turning to face her. It was her. Her blonde hair was soaked. Wait, no, the two of them were. He was...wet. She stared at him, frightened. She was frightened of him.
"You're okay. You're okay…" She murmured, pulling him into a hug. "It's alright. It's alright."
Percy closed his eyes. Something stained his cheeks. It was probably the water.
"Come, let's get to shore." She paddled back, holding Percy. His limbs felt weak, drained. He looked around. They were about 10 metres from land. How…?
When they got there, she let him lie on the beach. "Wait here. I'll get some towels."
"I can...I can go back to the cabin." Percy whispered hoarsely. He coughed up some water.
She nodded, then left. He slowly got up and entered his cabin, shivering. The wind wasn't helping. He sat on the floor, curled up and hugging his knees, waiting. Minutes later, Annabeth gently opened the door after knocking.
"Here," she said softly, passing him a dry towel. He took it and draped it around him. "Thanks," he said while his teeth chattered.
"You should change into something dry," Annabeth observed. Scanning the room for his closet, she opened it and grabbed a fresh set of clothes. "I'll let you change," she said as she stepped out of the cabin for a bit.
The moment she shut the door behind her, she collapsed onto the bench and buried her face in her hands, sobbing quietly, making sure Percy didn't hear it. She looked up to check if anyone was around. No one. A rare sight, it was usually somewhat crowded until curfew forced everyone back into their cabins before the harpies arrived, but a war had taken a toll both physically and emotionally on everyone. Including herself. And Percy.
She steeled her nerves and wiped away her tears as she heard Percy rap on the door. She entered. He was wearing the dry clothes, but his eyes. Even under the little light of the lamp that hung on the wall next to them, she could see they were fractured with grief and fear. Her heart broke further at seeing this, but she kept wearing the gentle expression.
"Here, lie down," Annabeth said, gesturing to his bed. He did, no snappy comeback, no friendly insult comparing her to his mom.
She brought out the leaf she had been holding, a leaf from a sub-species of the poppy tree, plucked from Chiron's herb garden. Incidentally the original plant was taken straight from the banks of the Lethe. With no further words, she brought it to Percy's nose.
"Annabeth, what…" His voice trailed off as his mind lapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep. He would be out for the next day. Such was the power of Hypnos.
"I'm sorry Percy, you need it." Annabeth's eyes brimmed with tears as she exited the cabin, shutting the door behind her gently. She tossed the leaf in the hearth and washed her hands in the lake before heading back to her own cabin. Opening the door, she heard the incessant snoring of her half-siblings, all exhausted. She climbed into her bed and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep after what had happened.
She wished she still had the leaf.
Annabeth woke up groggily, staring at the clock. Realising the time, she jumped up.
Gods, I'm late! She washed up as fast as she could and headed outside to see...no one. Well, not no one. Some people were up and about, but definitely not the whole camp. She looked at the mess hall. It wasn't packed in the slightest, neither was the food being served.
She blinked. But it was 10. The day started at 8. She made her way to the Big House to find Chiron, but saw the centaur on the way.
"Chiron!" She ran to him. Her mentor gave her a smile. "Annabeth, what brings you here so early?"
"Early? It's 10!"
"I made an announcement yesterday that we would start at 11 today, because we all needed a good rest."
"Oh. Right." She slapped her forehead. "I guess I didn't catch it. I must have been distracted."
"Is it about Percy?"
"How did you…"
He sighed. "I heard the commotion. You handled it well, Annabeth. And I know you took one of the poppy leaves from my garden." He held his hand up to stem her apology, "It's alright. You made the right decision. Perseus needs rest, more so than anyone, especially since he bears the curse of Achilles."
"I had never seen him look this scared and weak before. It still frightens me. What do we do about him?"
Chiron pondered over it for a while. "Call a meeting for the councillors. Before breakfast. There is much to discuss," He said. "Do not worry about Perseus, he is strong."
She nodded dumbly and walked away. She took a quick shower since she had time and spent the rest of it reading up on a bunch of scrolls outside her cabin. Her mother had given them to her last night. They were blueprints of Olympus. Seeing the familiar language and numbers helped slightly with dousing her worries, but the underlying fear that she could not squash remained.
As she saw more and more people emerge, sleepy-eyed, from their cabins, she saw one of the Stoll twins. She walked to him, and he stared at her, half-awake, blinking.
"Whuzzup, Annabeth?" He slurred. Travis, I think.
"Councillor meeting. Big House. Tell the rest." She said shortly. He groaned, a rather loud one, but nodded.
That's settled, she thought. She gave a last long look at the Poseidon cabin before she started climbing the hill to the meeting.
Fifteen minutes later, all of the cabin councillors were gathered, including Nico de Angelo to represent the Hades cabin, their faces were all pulling the same grouchy frown.
"This had better be good," Clarisse snarled, "I'm starving." She was clutching a hunting knife in her fist. The two people sitting next to her, Drew Tanaka and Will Solace, scooted away from her. Annabeth could not blame them.
"I second that," Travis declared.
"If we are all here…" Chiron scanned the room. Attendance was full. "Then we can start. First things first: There'll be a change of the number of cabins, as you all know. They will be continuing the current 'U' formation. We will thus be suspending camp activities to support the construction of them."
A mutter of mixed opinions filled the room. Personally, Annabeth was thrilled at the prospect of supervising and building some structures, but judging from the groans of some others, they did not share the sentiments.
"Speaking of that, where's Percy? Shouldn't he be here, since he, y'know, asked for it?" Connor swerved his head around to find the missing demigod. Annabeth bristled but kept her composure proper.
"That is next on our agenda. If you would let me finish this...and keep your whispers for later." He added as the room broke out in another hive of buzzing of concern. Annabeth stayed silent through this, and caught some of them giving her a look.
"As I was saying, we will also be holding a camp-wide meeting at precisely 1 o'clock in the afternoon today, gathering in the amphitheatre so that the unclaimed campers can finally be claimed. Both Mr Stolls, instruct them accordingly." The two of them nodded in acknowledgement.
"Mr D has kindly informed me that he has managed to persuade the Olympian Council and get the minor gods to spare this time and claim their children. From what I have heard, there was not much complaint to clear their debts to Mr Jackson as fast as possible. Mr Underwood already has his satyrs on high alert. With luck, this will all go smoothly."
"Now, on to our second order of business. Mr Jackson. Before any of you ask, he is safe and is currently sleeping at his cabin. Annabeth, if you could retell last night's events…?"
Annabeth stood up and slowly retold them what had happened. As they listened, their expressions became more concerned. Even Clarisse's. But she conceded that made sense, given that her father was the god of war, she would be aware of its...aftereffects.
"I know we are all traumatised by the War as well, and we'll probably be affected by it till gods-knows-when, but Percy seemed especially affected by it. I don't know why."
"Did something happen at the throne room?" Katie spoke out. "Maybe Luke – I mean, Kronos, cursed him or something."
"It's a possibility." Jake chimed in.
"I don't know. I was there, and besides battling, nothing out of the ordinary happened." Then again, I was knocked across the room and slammed into a slab of marble so I doubt my vision was crystal clear, she thought, but kept quiet. Katie's words triggered something, a faint memory. Later, she chided herself.
"Let's forget that. What about recovery? How'd you knock him out for so long?" Clarisse suddenly asked.
"Poppy leaf. Chiron's garden." Annabeth replied, earning a grunt of approval from the girl.
"Bring him to the infirmary later when he's up then, I'll take a look at him," Will said.
Annabeth chewed her lip. "Um...actually Will, I was thinking we could go straight to your dad. I, uh…"
Will seemed to understand. Everyone wore the same expression. "It's fine, I get it." He replied. He didn't look offended, which comforted Annabeth immensely. Will wasn't one to mask his emotions.
"I'll take Percy to see him then, when he's up." Annabeth looked around the table for any objection. No one did. Chiron nodded approvingly.
"So...if that's everything, can we please go eat? The wailing my stomach's making would make the Cocytus jealous," Travis said.
23/6/18:
I hope you enjoyed this. I'm deviating from the original plot to tie up some loose ends like having to end the feelings between Percy and Annabeth more naturally, as well as addressing the aftermath of the War. I also thought it would be better to show the trauma experienced and touch a bit on that.
Overall, this will be a bit more slow burn and you should expect some Percabeth at the start, but rest assured this is still Perstia.
4/8/18:
Updated and split up. See end of ch5 for details
Feedback is appreciated.