Loyalty Isn't That Bad of a Fatal Flaw, Right?

When Percy found out about his fatal flaw, his first thought was how was that a bad thing? After all, loyalty was something that people wanted in their friends and family. Having too much loyalty? That didn't seem too bad.

But then Athena glared at him with her I-know-what-you're-thinking-and-it's-stupid look, and told him, "You would sacrifice the world to save your best friend."

So perhaps personal loyalty was bad to the world? Which Percy kind of didn't get, because wouldn't everyone hesitate to sacrifice their best friend, even if the consequences were terrible? But he just nodded, and slipped Athena's warning in the back of his mind.

He swore that Athena just gave him a look, like she felt some sort of pity for him, when she disappeared with a flash.

That's when he started to doubt his original assumption that his fatal flaw wasn't too bad. Because if the goddess of wisdom, who absolutely hated him and would rather turn him into a rodent then let him near her daughter, felt some sort of pity for him… that really wasn't good.

But again, what could be so bad about loyalty? He already knew Annabeth's fatal flaw of hummu- wait no, hubris, and even if it was plenty troublesome at times, it made her what she was. And it wasn't like being prideful was something that people actually wanted.

How bad could having a fatal flaw of loyalty be?

The first time he truly realized the repercussions of his flaw was when Bianca passed away.

She was the first person to ever actually die on a quest, and she was like what, twelve? Two years younger than him. She had so much to live for… the camp, her future, her brother-

Oh gods, what would Nico think of him? He promised to bring her back safely, and now she was just gone because of the stupid robot in the middle of the desert. He said he would, and Nico, the trusting little kid believed him, and what would he be like when his sister, the only person he had to look up to, died?

Something cracked in his chest, and it took everything in his willpower to just keep standing, and move on, while a piece of his heart was still being clutched in Bianca's cold hands.

He couldn't save her. What if he was the one to jump in Talos, why did she have to be the one? Of course, he had to be utterly useless because they were in the desert, and there was no water.

But he was the one who was still standing after they moved from the desert, and he thought, slightly numb, that maybe this was what Athena was referring to last year.

He couldn't just let go of her. Hades, he promised, and now she was dead and why did this have to happen.

Stupid prophecy.

No one seemed to notice as something inside of Percy slowly started to break apart during the quest, although Grover did give him some weird glances when he was being uncharacteristically quiet at certain times.

And through the entire thing, the mantra rumbled on in his head that it was his fault.

Although Thaila did pull him aside for a couple of minutes when everyone was panicking over the skeleton soldiers.

She hissed, "What's going on with you?" as the skeletons clattered like an old person wearing fake teeth in the cold.

So maybe it wasn't as well hidden as he thought it was.

Fending off a bony arm, Percy let out a snort. "Is this the time for that?"

"We're not going to have a better time than this," she yelled back as she twisted in midair and sliced a skeleton's head off. The head clattered angrily before the skeleton picked it up again, and placed it back on its shoulders. "Stupid regenerating skeletons."

"We're going to have to run and meet up with the rest of the group."

"You don't think?" Thaila snarked back, backing up. "Just tell me first what's going on in that kelp head of yours."

After a moment of silence, where the only sounds were their footsteps and the clatter of the skeletons, Thaila groaned. "When are you going to tell me?"

Percy snapped back, "I made a promise, okay? And I broke it."

"What promise?" Thaila said, looking at him weirdly as a bolt of lighting came down on two skeletons, breaking them into a pile of bones. She stumbled, panting.

Another pause. The skeletons slowly reformed, and resumed their chase after them.

"I promised Nico to keep his sister safe."

"... Oh."

Percy sighed, before slicing his sword through another skeleton, "Yeah."

He nearly growled in frustration as another skeleton attempted to shoot him in the face. After dodging it and smacking the skeleton with a faceful of water, he mumbled, "Take that, you dam pile of bones."

Thaila looked at him with an unusually thoughtful look.

"You blaming yourself?"

"Of course I'm not blaming myself for not saving someone's sister who decided to sacrifice herself with the plan that I made up," Percy said, slicing another skeleton. "Silly me."

Thaila gave a huff of laughter, before quietly answering, "It's not your fault."

"I've heard."

She gave him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Yea, yea," Percy threw back, but softened when she jabbed him in the stomach. "I get it, but it's hard to… accept that sometimes. You know what I mean?"

Thaila nodded, both of them huffing at this point from exhaustion.

"Oh look, there's the group."

Absentmindedly, Percy responded, "Do you think Grover saved me a burrito? These skellys are really bringing my appetite up."

(He didn't realize that his faith would be severely tested in a couple more years when a war popped up and so much more people passed away. His allies, his friends, all gone within a couple of days.)

The next time was when someone in his class insulted his mom.

Honestly, the school year was going pretty well this year, considering he didn't explode anything yet with flaming cannonballs or dangerous vampire cheerleaders. Although that might have to do with the fact that the war was finally over, and monsters were finally giving him a small break.

Of course, it didn't mean that a hellhound or something wouldn't chase after him after school ended, but they weren't actually inside of the school.

But because of the said war, his patience was slowly stretching to a thin line, because he still couldn't help mourn for his fallen friends. And of course, that lovely voice inside of his head kept on whispering that it was somehow his fault for not saving everything, even though that was kind of irrational and stupid.

It was just one of those really bad days, when another idiotic classmate had to casually throw a word of insult at his mom. And this time, that patience snapped in half.

He was casually walking to Paul's class, because English was in a couple of minutes, but he was just ready to go home and eat his mom's famous blue cookies. But when he was at the door, he spotted a bunch of kids gossiping together.

"His mom's dating Mr. Blofis, right?"

"I can't believe that's even allowed. Mr. Blofis obviously would have some bias towards him with grading."

At this point, Percy couldn't care about whatever they said about him. So he was about to just push past them to enter the classroom, when another voice chimed in.

"She's such a slut. Probably trying to get her kid better grades while they're off banging somewh-"

Oh, she did not just go there.

He interrupted them with a deceptively calm voice that fooled nobody. "What did you say?"

The three kids against the wall whirled around to face Percy, whose face had gone emotionless in a split second.

The girl that he remembered was called Delilah mumbled, "Nothing."

Something like calm fury washed over Percy as he leaned forward casually, "That didn't seem like nothing."

At this point, the two other kids scurried off to class, leaving Delilah alone and twitching nervously. She shrugged, and hesitantly said, "It's not my p-problem that your mom might be a sl-"

He interrupted her stuttered words by leaning in closer. He was close enough that he could see her eyes widen in terror, the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

But he didn't care at all, because she was the one who thought it was a good idea to insult his mom, the woman who decided to put up with him everyday despite the monsters, despite the danger, when a typical person would have run away screaming.

This girl thought it was a good idea to insult the best person in the world, and he would gladly go to Tartarus if he just let that insult go.

A little voice, suspiciously sounding like Annabeth, told him that he was taking it a bit too far. But he ignored the voice, because he wanted her to feel terror. He wanted her to fully understand what the consequence of insulting his mom would be.

Softly, he said, "Is that so?" The water fountain across the hallway started to rumble, but he ignored it.

Delilah was trembling so hard that she couldn't answer properly, mumbling, "It's not- it's just a t-theory and…"

"I don't care if it was a theory. Next time I see you insult my mom, I will literally throw you across the hallway, because I'm not dealing with your nonsense. You don't know how much she's sacrificed."

She quickly nodded. But he wasn't done yet.

"But I'm warning you. If you call my mom a slut again, I will-"

He threw his fist at the locker next to him, feeling the locker crack under his fist with a satisfying crunch. As Delilah stared at his unaffected hand (go invincibility!), wide-eyed in fear, he gave her a slow grin, teeth bared.

"Well, you know what's going to happen."

Percy backed away, letting Delilah flee into the safety of the classroom. As he pulled his fist out of the locker, he heard a pencil drop behind him. He twisted his head around.

It was Paul. And he was extremely pale.

Immediately, the last dregs of anger drained out of Percy. Aloud, he gasped, "Holy Hera, what was that."

He murdered a perfectly good locker just someone called his mother a-

In fact, he wasn't even going to repeat what they said.

Paul cautiously walked over to him like Percy was some sort of rabid animal, leaving the pencil lying on the ground. The fear in Paul's eyes, so similar to the ones in Delilah's eyes a second ago, finally washed away all of the remaining fury. He sank to the ground, hand on his forehead.

A couple of seconds passed as Paul stared at the fist-shaped hole in the locker, and the crouched figure on the ground. The bell rang, and still, nobody moved.

Finally, in a small voice, Percy whispered, "I don't know what happened."

Paul stared at him. After a moment, he answered quietly, "I thought you were possessed."

Percy looked up. "Why's that?"

"Your eyes were nearly all black," Paul responded awkwardly.

"I don't understand." Percy leaned back against the locker with a sigh. "This never happened to me before."

"So it was you?" Paul said sharply.

"It wasn't like that," Percy mumbled. He went on, staring at the ground. "When she called my mom a- yeah, I just completely lost it. Like I- I actually enjoyed her terror, and it was the weirdest experience ever, but I wanted her to be scared because she insulted my mom."

He shrugged, looking at Paul tiredly. "There's probably something wrong with me."

Paul sighed, and sat down next to Percy, pretending not to notice Percy twitch.

"Didn't you mention that your fatal flaw was loyalty or something?"

Percy nodded.

"That probably had to do something with… that."

"I guess," Percy mumbled.

Paul slowly got up again, and held out a hand to Percy. "Let's get to class, and we'll figure it out later on how to… control that feeling next time."

As Percy pulled himself up with Paul's outstretched hand, Paul clapped a hand on his back. "Don't worry about it. You'll be alright."

Percy glanced at the hole in the locker, and Paul let out a snort. "But you're going to have to pay for that. Say goodbye to your allowance money."

Percy gasped in mock-horror. "Not my allowance money!"

(Later, he would think back to this scene with poison crawling across the ground, and the creepy ghost lady crying out tears of despair hurting his Annabeth, and he would think, to Hades with it all, she's not getting away with this.)

Gaea was defeated, the Romans and Greeks united, and Percy was still furious at the gods.

He was pacing around in the throne room, trying to contain his frustration while all the gods gazed at him with their unnerving, unblinking stares. Plus, they were all enormous, as if they were trying to flaunt their power, which didn't help their case at all.

"Percy?" Poseidon's voice was even, tinged with worry, but yet filled with caution. Which was alright, Percy supposed, because it was kind of obvious how close he was to throwing a tantrum in the middle of the throne room. "Why did you want a meeting with us?"

Zeus grumbled something about Poseidon picking favorites, and about puny mortals not allowed to disrespectfully invade the throne room, but Hera threw him an uncharacteristically serious glare, and he quieted down.

Percy took a deep breath, before letting it out again. He stopped pacing back and forth.

"I would like to know-" his voice was strangely loud in the enormous throne room that Annabeth designed a year ago, "-why there are still twenty-six half bloods in camp that aren't claimed yet and are all older than fourteen years old.

Silence swept across the throne room as even Ares stopped sharpening his sword to finally listen to what he was saying.

"You guys swore that you would claim them, exactly a year ago," Percy said, eyes accusing. "Why are you stopping now?"

Aphrodite opened her mouth, before daintily closing it again. Hermes just looked tired, his usually cheerful disposition wiped clean.

"I don't know why I even try anymore," Percy mumbled in frustration, as he turned his back on the silent gods. Immediately, Zeus slammed down his bolt.

"Boy, don't turn your back on the gods," he snarled. "It was just a simple mistake."

Just a simple mistake.

Percy saw white.

He turned around, and spat out, "You all don't change, no matter what, huh?" He gestured to them wildly, "What happened to the promise with Calypso? Why wasn't she freed from the island."

Hera tried to respond, eyes sharp, but Percy interrupted her, whipping around.

"And you, you took away eight months of my life just to fit your own plans. Eight months where my mom and Paul and Annabeth went absolutely crazy, and still no consideration to my life, because I was just part of your lousy plan."

He was on the roll now, hardly paying attention to the words tumbling out of his mouth that he kept away for so long.

"I was twelve when Ares decided to fight me for absolutely no reason. Aphrodite still keeps on messing around with my love life, and still, you guys still don't learn from your mistakes. You still abandon your kids, and tell me, right now, why would I keep on fighting for the gods?"

Breathing hard, he glared at the motionless gods, briefly flashing back to the time when he was just a kid, bowing down to them fearfully.

He changed. And he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Poseidon looked at him with something akin to panic in his eyes, as Hermes stared at him with what looked horrified recognition. Vaguely, he remembered Luke's vengeance and anger, before Zeus stood up, holding his bolt.

Calmly, he said, "And tell me, why shouldn't I strike you down at this moment for your impertinent words."

Surprisingly, it was Athena who told Zeus to back down first. Incredulously, Percy watched Athena shake her head at Zeus, who grudgingly sat back down. She got up from her throne, and walked towards him, shrinking as she came closer.

"Perseus."

Automatically, he responded, "Percy," watching as Athena impatiently waved his words away.

"Do you want to know why you fight for the gods?"

Before he could respond, Athena went on, a knowing glint in her eye. "Do you remember your fatal flaw?"

"Personal loyalty," he said, watching the rest of the gods, who looked at the two of them in curiosity.

"That's right," Athena dipped her head. "And that is why you fight. Fatal flaws aren't necessarily bad, per se. Then loyalty wouldn't even be considered to be a flaw. But it's true that fatal flaws cause the demise of many heroes."

She looked at him critically. "Fatal flaws control what a hero does, and they are what always will cause a hero to fall, no matter what. It can't be changed, because the flaw is always a part of them."

Percy frowned slightly. "But loyal-"

Athena interrupted him again, ignored his indignant glance. "You, for example, are as unpredictable as the sea, yes? But just as the sea is always blue, you always will be the most loyal to your friends and family."

"And how is that a bad thing?" Percy asked.

Athena sighed in annoyance, shaking her head. "As I said before, fatal flaws aren't bad itself. But they ensnare you into a trap, into a predetermined future that you can never escape."

For the first time, he saw Athena look at him almost sadly.

"You, Perseus, will be always loyal to the gods, because no matter how much we've done to you, we are still your family. You don't have a choice in the say, because your fatal flaw says that you would fight for us."

"That is why you are the perfect minion, the perfect person to send on quests and fight for us. Because you have no other option to. Annabeth could rebel against the gods, because her fatal flaw is pride, and that has nothing to do with us, but you… you are always trapped in your cycle of loyalty."

In the distance, he could see Zeus look at him with something other than anger. But Athena's gray eyes, so like Annabeth's, bore into him without any mercy.

"Unless you manage to break the family ties, you will always be the soldier to fight for the world."

With that said, she gracefully walked back to her throne, growing back to her enormous height, and sat back down.

He opened his mouth to protest, closed it, and gave up trying to say anything at all.

A cycle of violence that he could never escape.

"Send the boy back to the ground. He's had a long day," Demeter said sympathetically, a grain stalk between her fingers. Wordlessly, Zeus nodded, and let him walk away.

He heard Athena faintly call out, "You'll find the kids you talked about all claimed back at Camp Half-Blood."

"Your fatal flaw is loyalty?"

Leo looked at him in amazement, a half-formed robot dangling from his hands. Behind him sat the rest of the seven, chatting amongst the cheery atmosphere of the evening bonfire.

"Dude, that's amazing. That's literally the best fatal flaw for a person to ever have."

Piper glanced over, an eyebrow raised. "How is that even a bad thing?"

Percy just smiled sadly at the group, rubbing his trusty pen in his pocket.

"That's what I said when I was thirteen too."

This one-shot was a random idea that popped up when I remembered someone complaining about Percy being too Mary Sue, especially with his fatal flaw being loyalty and stuff. But then I wondered how having fatal flaw in loyalty would be like, and if it would have some repercussions that would be unexpected.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! And as I always say, reviews always make my day.