This story you will be delving into is basically a "What if?" from my one shot "It'll be Fine" in which Percy fails to commit suicide and is "saved". This will not be a touchy-feel good story nor will it have a decent "good" ending. A lot of you will probably read this and wonder why I would write it or how you could read it. Not saying it'll be gory or bloody (at least, I don't think it will. I have yet to write an actual story or even come up with one that includes insane amounts of gore and blood so, chances are, if I try to write one now, it wouldn't really do anything to ya. Probably sound awkward, maybe.) however I am saying that the plot itself won't be pretty.

Now, as for the required "in this story expect to find..." part, it'll be pretty short:

-Dark themes

-Past-mentions of suicide attempt

-Violence

-Canon couples (and I mean actual word of god canon couples, none of that fandom canon schtuff ie Travis/Katie, Connor/Miranda, Reyna/Whoever (she's single), no threesomes, none of that beta-bottom-bitch!Nico (I should slap y'all for that one) or any beta-bottom-bitches (male or female) etc. etc.)

-Some OOCness (I do not know how to write in Annabeth's voice nor am I familiar with how some of the more recent characters would talk/react. Also, due to the overlying dark theme, most people aren't going to be acting like their bubbly, happy-go-lucky self)

and, something new,

-Lyrics!

Do not worry, the lyrics won't be scattered throughout the chapter. They will be above the main story and they will act as sort of guidelines to prepare you for the chapter. To make this new thing I'm trying even more new and exciting, I'm also going to be explaining my personal reason for choosing that lyric/song for that specific chapter/story. I highly recommend you pull them up and listen to them as you read the chapters as, for the most part, the chapters are short and the songs I choose will almost always fit the tone of that chapter. Plus, it's good music (to me) and I always love sharing music. Here's an example of how it would look:

He just sits and waits for them to kick in the door
He once was a hero they don't love him no more
There's a blast, every time a foot hits the floor
His gift for not fighting another man's war
And if they can get their hands on the mask that he wore
On his face, they can put somebody else in his place and restore
The state, the illusion that its safe
the faith, that being a slave is so great
As gas fills the room and rockets destroy everything around him
He stands to find himself surrounded
By thousands of soldiers that his once trained to never miss their targets
Heartless, Hello Darkness

-Lupe Fiasco, Hello/Goodbye

CHAPTER GOES HERE.

BOLD WORDS OF SOMETHING STORY RELATED

DISCLAIMER: IF I REMEMBER

I absolutely love Lupe Fiasco and his music so expect a few more song intros from him. As for the reason I chose this song and, specifically, that verse; it's what started this whole thing. It actually started off rather innocently with me picturing Nico rapping the lyrics of all of Lupe Fiasco's song but as I listened and listened and listened to this particular song, I realised how much it could be linked to the demigods, specifically Percy. Specifically the AR where he does end up becoming suicidal and killing himself and, it was just... inspiration. "He once was a hero they don't love him no more" would refer to Percy believing that he is no longer what they need to stay alive and reinforcing his mentality that he is just a burden. "His gift for not fighting another man's war" how many wars has/will Percy gotten/get into over the course of every series Dicky plans to write? Chances are a lot of them and what's his reward? Another dead friend, another broken piece of him and another mask could be symbolic of Jason or Magnus or the Kanes because, even though they are separate characters, every single one of us are guilty of comparing them (or will be guilty, considering Magnus) to Percy. I mean, the sneak peek chapters of Magnus Chase came out and everyone was like "OMGs, he's gonna be the next Percy!" However, it's not just us, irl, as the characters tend to do this as well. Basically, we don't actually care about the characters as leaders unless they are like Percy. The next couplet (the state… slave is so great) is symbolic of Percy and Co's relationship to the gods. It's hella obvious that most of them do not trust the gods nor like them and only do what they can to please them because 1) they don't want to die, 2) those are their parents and 3) they want to get praised. Demigods are pawns for the gods to do as they bid yet, due to the gods rewarding them every once in a while and not killing them, they keep following and keep believing in their faith. There's not much I can really take away from the next couplet except that Percy, in this AR, could potentially find himself in a position where he is surrounded by those that looked up to him and he would feel guilty for that because he considers himself a bad person and pities that they can't see what he can. Then finally, that in your face "Heartless, Hello Darkness" Percy finally snaps and ends his life. At this point in time, he feels safer in the dark and gloomy then in the light and sunshine because, at least in the darkness, he can expect what will come. Darkness breeds more Darkness, however, Light can easily be overcome by shadows and Percy is tired of dealing with that. So, steeling his heart, he embraces eternal darkness and doesn't look back. Hello and Goodbye.

SIGN OFF

IS BOLDED

TO SHOW IT'S NOT PART

OF THE ANALYSATION.

And that's it. :) So, sit back, and enjoy (or try to enjoy?) the story. :)