1347

Death.

All she could see was death.

Annabeth stood, paralyzed, eyes locked onto the heaps of bodies lining the roads. There were flies buzzing everywhere, and she could smell nothing but the overwhelming stench of the dead, the black boils of pus on their shriveled skin, the decomposition of rotting flesh.

She didn't move for hours. No one dared approach the six-year-old girl on the streets. Her long blonde hair was matted and streaked with dirt, and her clothes ripped beyond recognition. Children were not likely to survive the sickness, immune systems left undeveloped, so they left her for the dead.

She understood. She would too.

The sun began to come down, shining onto what used to be the beautiful country of France before it hit. Before the sailors reached the country, already long dead, and set off the beginning of what would be a new era.

An era of pestilence, of greed, of pleading to a god that didn't exist, because if a god did exist, why would they let this happen? Why would they take Annabeth's friends and family away and leave her wandering the streets, abandoned?

Her blonde tangles blowing in the wind, she headed back inside her home, or what was left of it. Everything was just so dirty and wet and cold. She was beginning to wonder is this is what home felt like.

What did she do to deserve this?

She was immediately greeted by the only person left in her family. Everyone else had been dead, ripped apart from her days ago before she even had a chance to say goodbye.

And their image would forever be burned into her mind. Annabeth had gone to bed, her mother and father safely in their home, terrified of the talk outside. She hadn't grasped much of their conversation as they had spoken hushed for their two children, but she got enough.

The Black Death.

The Black Death was ripping through all of Europe, and it reached France at last. There was no cure. If you contracted it, you were dead. Annabeth had been naïve enough to think it wouldn't happen to them.

People always think that they'll be safe— that they'll be the exception.

But the next morning, she had woken up and they were gone. Her parents were on the floor, motionless, covered in blood and boils and pus. It was then that she knew just how serious this was.

When the Black Death strikes, it strikes simple and fast. She knew that now.

"Annabeth," Malcolm said, bringing her attention back to the present. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth didn't respond, settling onto the ground and arms going to hug herself for any semblance of comfort or warmth. It didn't stop the shaking in her bones.

"I think we should go," he said, sitting next to her. Even in the dark, she could see his face, sunken, his skin sweaty and grey. Fear permanently sketched into his skin. It was a shame that he was so young, only a year older than her. "It is no longer safe here."

"It is no longer safe anywhere," she said, a single tear trailing down her face and dripping onto the hard, muddy floor. So cold. "All of Europe is taken over."

"We can't stay here."

"Where do you want to go?"

"We can venture away from everyone. This isn't going to end, but if we leave the country, we might survive."

"There is no surviving," she whispered, thinking of her parents, dead in hours. "Not anymore."

"We have to try. We'll leave at sunrise."

Malcolm kept speaking of his plans, but Annabeth didn't listen. She was old enough to know they would never make it out. Not when every corner they turned, there were more and more bodies piling up. Not when they hadn't eaten for days and their bones were poking out beneath their skin.

Not ever.

Eventually, they fell asleep, finally numb from the cold. Annabeth dreamt of nothing but the smell of death, fear, poverty, insanity. It was nothing though, compared to reality when she woke up in the middle of the night to a persistent coughing.

When she looked to her brother, hunched over on the floor, throwing up and blood dripping down his mouth, she knew it was over. He was sick, and he was dying. It would be her turn soon enough.

Annabeth stayed with him until the end. She held his hand and lay her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She gave him what little water they had, and he insisted on otherwise, but she didn't listen.

The boils on his skin appeared quickly, but she didn't try and find a doctor. They wouldn't come to help a child. She did her best, shushing his cries, but she knew he wanted their parents.

She was just a kid. She didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know how to comfort a child who was dying. So young.

Malcolm didn't last long. Soon, his blonde hair was covered in his own blood, and every breath he took was labored. He stayed silent until the end. She knew it was his time when he began trying to speak again, stifling his screams of pain.

"Promise me—" Malcolm sputtered on blood, and she swallowed a sob. "Get out of here. Do what you need to survive."

"I don't want to."

"You have to." Another much deeper cough. Sweat was dripping down his forehead. "I don't want you to die."

"I'm scared," she whimpered, her voice small. Annabeth needed her family, but they were gone, and she was alone, and she was petrified.

"Me too," he admitted, shuddering. "Go— don't get sick."

"Malcolm."

"Go," he ushered again, closing his eyes. "I love you."

"No," she pleaded, pushing at his chest. "Please don't leave me here. I don't know what I'm doing."

"You'll be okay."

And then Malcolm took one deep shuddering breath, but nothing came out. His eyes were shut, and his face was as relaxed as he'd been in forever, and she knew he was gone.

The tears didn't fall anymore. She was out of tears to cry.

Annabeth waited until the sun came up to act, curled into a ball in the corner of the room where her parents once lay. When light flooded in through holes in the wall, she could see his motionless body much clearer, and it hit her then just how unfair it all was.

Why did she have to be the one to live? Why couldn't he have survived instead of her? He had a plan for safety. She was just wandering through life one step at a time. She had no plan, and she had no interest in surviving when everyone she'd ever loved wasn't as fortunate as her.

It didn't matter what she wanted though, because he was dead, and he asked her to live. She was going to live for him, if not herself. She was going to try.

Annabeth stumbled out of the small room she considered home, onto the streets where the bodies were piled even higher on top of each other. She felt so small, standing in the midst of a biological catastrophe. Making it out of the country was going to be impossible when there was imminent danger around every corner.

She glanced back at her home that had ceased to exist. It was the place she was born, and it was the only place she felt safe all her life. It was the place she would hide when she was scared, but now, it offered her no protection. Now, it offered her nothing but guilt at the fact that she was the one to survive.

This wasn't her home.

So she turned back around and started down the street, stepping over bones and the infected, swatting away the flies buzzing around her. She walked and walked, never looking back. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to leave.

Annabeth's stomached rumbled as the hours slid by, cramping painfully as it begged her for food. She ignored the signs and kept walking the abandoned streets. She didn't pass a single person outside. Only dead bodies scattered around, some fresh and some already to the bone.

Golden hour began to settle over the once lively country of France, and it was an eerie beauty, she noticed. Such a sharp contrast, the warm sun over the isolated roads, the smooth cast of gold over the black boils and bruises. So opposite, yet so complimentary.

Annabeth sat down after she could no longer walk, her tiny ankles swollen beyond recognition. Her sense of smell had long disappeared, and she felt disgusted by everything. Every part of her was caked in blood or dirt, and her knee was still dripping from when she had tripped over a stray body and scraped her skin, and the only thing she wanted to do was scrub her skin raw of the germs.

She watched the sun continue to settle over the horizon, her heart already beginning to ache for Malcolm. He was so safe all the time, and she wasn't. He did everything to keep from getting sick, but he still did. Annabeth had done nothing to protect herself and yet she was still alive. She doesn't understand how, but she hopes it ends soon.

Annabeth slowly drifted into a sleep, still upright against a brick wall in the middle of the city. It was an uncomfortable position, but she didn't wake once, too weak from lack of any food, and so exhausted with life.

She was only woken up when it was bright out again, and there was a large shadow looming over her.

Annabeth immediately scrambled away from the figure, eyes wide and her heart beating out of her chest. The figure seemed to be a person, but she couldn't see their face. Instead of a face, there was a large black mask over, a beak-like structure protruding towards her and two black pieces of glass replacing where their eyes would be. They were completely covered in black, topped by a hat resting on their head, and she had never seen anything like it.

A sharp cry left Annabeth's throat as she was cornered against the wall with nowhere to go. She was shaking, and the blood rushing through her ears almost made her miss when the figure began to speak.

"It's okay." A booming male voice. "I'm a doctor."

And then her heartrate slowed, if only a little, as it began to unravel in her mind. She hadn't seen any doctors in her area of the city, but she'd heard her parents talking of them while they were still here. They looked different than she'd imagined.

"Are you lost?"

Annabeth shook her head no, still refusing to let down her guard.

"Where is your family?"

"Dead."

Though the mask covered their face, she could see the subtle drop of their shoulders. They stared at each other, and she could practically see gears turning in their head. The silence persisted before he spoke again.

"You must be hungry," he said, and Annabeth perked up, her stomach beginning to rumble right on cue, as though being reminded of how long it had been. She can't even remember anymore. "I have some food at my home. I can take you there."

Annabeth hesitated, but then the man held a gloved hand out to her, and she gave in, the tantalizing thought of food too tempting to resist. If the guy had bad intentions, it didn't matter at this point. She'd be dead either way.

She took a hesitant step towards him, and then he was picking her up and carrying her away before she even knew his name. It was weird to say, but she felt safe in his arms. He was the first person to speak to her in weeks besides her brother. It made her wonder why he was so willing to help her.

Perhaps he knew he was going to die anyways. At one point or another, everyone will die. Especially with the plague taking over, it was inevitable. Might as well go out helping someone else live when you're already so close to death, right?

The doctor kept walking down the streets, stepping over the bodies, and Annabeth rested her chin on his shoulder, looking at the path she came from. Her eyes were already beginning to pull down, the adrenaline disappearing within the safety of the doctor.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Annabeth."

"How old are you?"

"Six," she whispered, breathing against the fabric resting on his neck.

"Well, Annabeth, I'll make sure to keep you safe."

Annabeth blinked back tears, looking off in the distance. She could see a building standing tall above everything else. It was the building she grew up looking at, admiring it every single day of her life.

The Notre Dame was glistening in the early morning sunlight, its edges sharp and steady in a life of blurred lines and instability. Even at six years old, she could admire the exquisite building, yearning for something as magnificent in life as that building.

Annabeth felt a connection to it. The Notre Dame, built in 1163 as told by her parents, felt close to her. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it was there. A connection running through her veins.

Perhaps it was the fact that it was still standing, and so was she. Annabeth shouldn't be standing anymore. She should've died long ago, her immune system no match for the virus rampaging through all of Europe, but she hadn't. She was still alive and well, just like the Notre Dame, built hundreds of years ago.

As she was carried away from danger, her eyes stayed glued to the building. The building that was permanent in all of this horror. She wanted to do that someday. She wanted to build something permanent, grounding her to reality when everything around her disappeared.

Such a delicate beauty.

Contrasting from the life that was now and the life that was to come.

1793

"King Louis XVI is dead!"

Annabeth stood in the crowd, face blank, as the people in the crowd around her cheered for a new France. For a France with a National Convention, for a France without monarchy.

For a France without the King.

Paris was in shambles, and they just didn't know it. Annabeth did. She'd lived enough years that she knew what was coming would be horrific. She knew better than to cheer along with them.

As the King's head rolled to the ground, someone's hand wrapped tightly around her wrist, and she jumped until she two kind, familiar eyes looking back at her.

"We should go," Luke warned, arm slipping through hers as people continued to riot. "This isn't safe."

"I don't understand," she said, but let him lead her away anyways. "Is everything alright? You seem worried."

Luke continued to walk her towards their home, keeping slow enough to allow her to move in the big white skirt she was in, and keep relatively put together. It took a while, working through the crowd of men and women thrilled to have a new government, but they were eventually to their small home, for just the two of them.

"What is it, Luke?" Annabeth asked, turning so they were face to face.

He gazed at her lovingly with his blue eyes, taking her face in his hands. His fingers were soft but with the occasional callus, and she loved him. "I want to keep you safe."

"I don't understand."

Luke pressed his lips to hers sweetly, though it was like he was trying to pour every emotion into it. He was tense, and she's been with him long enough to know when something was bothering him.

"Luke?"

He pulled back but kept his hands on either side of her cheeks, tilting her face up. "There's been talk in Paris among the radicals. Now that King Louis XVI has been executed, a new leader is rising."

"Napoleon Bonaparte is leading France in war against Austria and Prussia, isn't he?"

"He is rising in the military ranks, but I mean here. In France."

"That is what the people want, isn't it? It is the reason for the revolution."

"Maximilien Robespierre."

"I'm sorry?"

"He's rising among the radicals. Now that there is nothing standing in the way of a complete revolution in France, they are turning violent. There has been word that executions are to start, and they're going for anyone who speaks out against the revolution."

Annabeth smiled nervously. "It's just talk, dear."

"I don't believe it is." He glanced towards their door as though trying to make sure no one was listening. "I know you haven't always supported the way the revolution was turning—"

"—The revolution has been violent, and I know how violence can end. I've seen it too many times. It is not the idea, but the course it's taken that I disagree with."

"And I understand that, but they won't." He sighed. "All I ask is you stay quiet for the time being. Don't give anyone a reason to come after you."

"I don't seem able to die," Annabeth joked quietly.

"We don't know that."

"I do. I should've lived multiple lives by this point."

"But have you ever had your head taken off?"

"What?"

"The executions— they are to be done by guillotine, just as Louis XVI. You may not be able to die, but can you be killed?"

"I— I don't know."

Luke's thumb caressed her cheek gently. "So stay silent. Don't speak out against the revolution or you risk being killed. And if not for yourself, then for me." He pressed a small kiss to her lips again. "You may not be able to die, but I can. Do it for me."

"This is ridiculous," Annabeth mused. "Being worried about someone who can't die."

"I must admit I still am not convinced you aren't being humorous."

"Then why do you believe me?"

"You seem to recall events of the past in vivid detail, and you trusted me. Someone who tells lies would not confide in me."

"I tell no lies," she said, recalling the day she had told him. It had been a secret kept a long time. When she was first born, she began to age, and age, and then—

It stopped.

She watched people around her pass away, but she stayed the same. She never died, and she never found out why. She hadn't got the slightest clue as to why she was still alive because she shouldn't have lived past the age of six, but she did.

And she swore to never tell anyone, fearing what they might say or do. But then, she had met Luke Castellan in Versailles, and somewhere along the way, she fell in love with him.

When she first told him, he had clearly not believed her, and she wished she had stayed silent. It was only when he pulled her close, embracing her in a way she hadn't been touched in decades, that she knew she made the right choice. That she chose the right person.

"I am to be gone to Versailles for several days," Luke said, pulling away. "I trust that you will stay safe?"

"Of course."

"I sense that Paris will be changing very soon," he said. "Stay silent. Do not speak out."

Annabeth listened to his words. When he left later that day, she stayed within her small home with him, sitting at a small wooden table. As the sun began to set, she got ready to sleep for the night, listening carefully for noises in the city.

It was silent that night. Nothing could be heard, and many felt it was a new peace, but she felt otherwise. She felt that this was the calm before a storm.

She was right, because over the next few days, things turned alarmingly violent in France. People began getting arrested as she was out in the city, and she had no choice but to walk on by. People who stood and showed disagreement were arrested too. No one knew what had happened to those arrested for the next few days.

It wasn't until Luke got back that the citizens of France discovered the new reality, gathering in the center of Paris, watching in horror as one by one, they were sentenced to death at the guillotine.

"Annabeth!" one of her friends pleaded, being dragged off by radicals. "You know this isn't right!"

The guards looked to Annabeth, searching for any sign of rebellion against the revolution. She continued walking.

People stopped leaving their homes, but the arrests and executions became more and more frequent. She learned of her closest friends being sentenced to the guillotine, and her heart ached, but the only person she cared for was Luke.

As she was walking through the city, keeping her eyes low, she heard someone screaming about the executions, and she thinks that it was a fitting name.

The Reign of Terror.

There was fear being instilled in the citizens of France as thousands were killed. Silence was enforced, but more people spoke up. They simply were killed too. It truly was a reign of terror.

"Who is behind the executions?" Annabeth asked Luke, behind the closed doors of their homes.

He sat at the table, looking down at his laced hands. When he spoke, it was a mere whisper. "Robespierre."

"People are dying!"

His head snapped up, and his eyes flashed in alarm. "Don't speak of it."

"This isn't right!"

"If anyone hears you, you will be dead. Do not speak of it."

Her mouth clamped shut, but she did as she was told. If she was caught, he would be too. He was associated with her, and if she acted out against the rebellion, she was ensuring his head be gone alongside hers.

Days later, when she came home from gathering bread, she was horrified to find Luke being dragged out of his home by guards. People gathered around, but no one helped him. She dropped everything in her arms, ready to run to him, but then he locked eyes with her, and she could read exactly what he was saying.

Stay away.

But this was the man she loved. He trusted her with his life, and she trusted him with hers. Luke believed her when she told him about who she really was, and she wasn't going to let him succumb to the Reign of Terror.

"Why are you being arrested?" she asked frantically, trying to get closer but the guards pushed her away.

"Someone claimed for me to be against the revolution."

"That isn't true!"

He shook his head, already giving up. There was no escape.

Annabeth was not going to let this happen to him. If he was not here, she didn't want to be either. She forced her way through the guards anyways, forcing a kiss to his lips, knowing that this was the end, and when a guard tried to pull her away again, she hit him with as much force as she could muster.

It was no surprise when they were tightening her hands behind her back and leading her away with him. Before she knew what was happening, she was being thrown into a dark, cold room with several other people, and then a metal gate was being locked behind her.

This was it.

Annabeth lifted herself off the floor she'd been tossed onto, immediately going to settle onto her knees in front of Luke's collapsed body. Her fingers frantically pressed against his body, looking to check if he was okay.

"Luke," Annabeth cried when he shifted to sit up, catching his eyes in the dark of the room. His hand went to her cheek, wiping the single tear that fell.

"It'll be alright," he assured, and then more tears were falling from both of them. How had this happened? How had the once beautiful France turned to nothing more than blood and executions? "Now we will be with God, in a world better than this one. It is over."

"I—"

"It'll be over before you know it," he said, forcing his face to hers, kissing her. It was a mess of tears and sobs, but it was life.

"We don't deserve this," she whispered against his warm lips.

"Sometimes, the people who deserve the most get the worst."

"May Robespierre meet the fate he so blindly bestowed upon others."

For the next few hours, or days, Luke held onto her. They were in their own bubble, despite the crying people around them. They knew they didn't have long anymore when the leaders of the rebellion walked in, chopping the hair of the captives.

Luke's eyes watched painfully as Annabeth's long locks were carelessly cut to her shoulders, and she could see a storm brewing behind his eyes. When the floor was a mess of hair and the guards were gone, he was reaching forwards to pull her to him, and then he was manically whispering in her ear.

"You must survive."

"What?"

Luke swallowed. "I may not be able to escape this, but you can."

"I don't know that I can."

"Do not get under that blade. Do anything and everything to stay alive."

"I don't have a choice," she whispered.

"Yes, you do. We don't both have to die. Show them that the revolution they are leading is not the solution. My death cannot be for nothing."

"I can't get away from here."

"You have survived until now. We don't know what'll happen if you end up under the guillotine, but we do know that they won't be able to hurt you without it. As long as you stay out from there, they cannot execute you."

"Luke—"

"Promise me you will stay alive."

"I—"

"Promise me."

"I don't want to live in a world without you. I should've been dead a long time ago. Maybe this is the end. Maybe I'm meeting my fate."

"This is not the end. You have a chance. Use it."

Annabeth wordlessly nodded and then rested her head upon his heartbeat, listening for what would be the last time. This was the person she loved, and he was going to be gone. It was the unfortunate truth, and they both knew it.

It was only hours later when the guards were grabbing the victims, and then they were being retied and led to the center of the city where their deaths waited with open arms. There was a line of people before them, but their time was still quickly running out.

Annabeth froze as she saw the guillotine up close. She could see the chipped wood and frayed rope. The angled blade gleamed dangerously in the sunlight, dripping red with the blood of the previous victims.

Luke turned his head slightly so he could see her behind him, and she suddenly wanted to go back on his promise. She didn't want to live in a world where they were reduced to a death as inhumane as the guillotine. She didn't want to live in a world where people died of a plague.

She didn't want to live in a world without him.

It was a funny thing though, knowing that you might only have minutes to live, or you might have eternity. It was entirely unfair too, knowing that you would have to stand tall to the government as you watched someone's head get severed from their body, undeserving.

Annabeth had heard that people can stay conscious for seven seconds after their head is taken. She really hopes not.

All too soon, Luke was being forced to the guillotine, shoved to his knees and head pushed against the bottom lining of the wood. His eyes met hers, and he mouthed, I love you.

She didn't get a chance to return the sentiment before someone was reading his charges, and a bitter taste filled Annabeth's mouth. He was not a traitor, and he did not deserve this. Only one person deserved this fate, and that was the person handing them out.

A crowd of supporters chanted in the center of the city, repeating the words of the rebellion, and she was disgusted. How could anyone support this?

The only thing to ease Annabeth was knowing they'd be in the same position soon enough, because people in power don't care about anything but themselves. It would be their turn soon enough, standing at the chopping block awaiting an inevitable death.

Annabeth watched someone approach behind Luke, and then there was a screeching as angled metal fell, and she had to look away. She knew it was over by the renewed vigor in the chanting of the crowd, and she knew that she was next.

She started to go peacefully, thankful for the extra years of life not everyone was fortunate enough to get, but then she remembered her promise to Luke, and she was not going down without a fight.

Annabeth screamed and kicked, fire ignited inside of her, and the guards fought back. She almost made it out of their grasp, but she was outnumbered. She was meeting her end one way or another today. She could not escape this death.

So as she was being settled down onto the guillotine, she looked out to the crowd, and said, "Maximilien Robespierre is not your leader, and you shall see this soon enough when you look out to the crowd as I am now, knowing how wrong you were to let it all pass by."

Someone kicked her, and she clenched her teeth to stifle the cry of pain. Behind her, someone listed her charge, and the crowd started up, but the blood roaring in her ears was louder.

"Annabeth Chase, sentenced to death by the guillotine, a traitor of the country and its revolutionary cause."

Annabeth tilted her head down, sensing the movement behind her as they got ready to pull the threaded rope and unleash the blade.

Suddenly, she could hear the words chanted around her, loud and clear, and this was it.

"Liberté!"

She took a deep breath. She had reached the end of her life, and maybe that was okay. She didn't have to live a life of inequity anymore.

"Égalité!"

She closed her eyes, awaiting the sharp sound of the blade coming down. This was the end. The Reign of Terror was her downfall. The once beautiful France was gone, turned corrupt. Turned to this.

"Fraternité!"

The screeching sound of metal broke out as it began to fall, and she braced herself for the impact.

It never came.

4127

Annabeth sipped at her steaming cup of coffee, staring down at the bustling streets of New York City from the balcony of her apartment. She delighted in the gentle breeze, leaning over the glass railing of her penthouse.

It was a slow day, just like every other day had been for the past few millennia. It hadn't taken Annabeth long to get tired of living in France, especially after the guillotine broke around her neck, the metal crunching.

That had been a hard one to explain.

Whatever. They were long dead by this point.

Anyways, she ended up moving to the United States somewhere after World War II in an attempt to get away from a haunting past. It didn't do much, really, but she was at least able to get an expensive apartment. Money was easy to come by when you couldn't die. She could simply walk up to someone and take it.

Annabeth took another slow sip of her drink, blinking slowly. New York was nice enough, for the time being. It was definitely crowded, but it made it easier to meet new people, something she found herself constantly having to do.

One-hundred years may be a long time for some other people, but it was nothing but a weekend vacation for her.

Also lots of cute guys were in New York. She had to spend her time doing something, right? She only had eternity, after all.

Annabeth turned back to head inside her penthouse, moving past the giant glass doors and into the living room, decorated with spotless furniture and extravagant art pieces draped on every wall.

"There you are!" Silena stood up from a chair at the marble island, her own cup of coffee in her hand. "I thought you went out for a while."

"The doors are glass," Annabeth pointed out, thankful her friend was awake. She didn't like being alone very much, considering she felt like it was all she ever was anymore. She was surrounded by people, but she was so, so alone. It was reasons like that that she invited people to stay over all the time. They could surely appreciate a home like Annabeth's more than she ever could.

"I wasn't really looking," she said, giggling. "Once Charlie wakes up, I was thinking we could head out into the city, maybe go shopping?"

"Sure."

Silena cocked her head, setting her mug down. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth inwardly scoffed. When was the last time she was alright? The 1300's? "I'm good."

"Hm." Silena grabbed Annabeth's hand and squeezed as she got closer. "Where do you want to go shopping?"

"Somewhere expensive."

"I like your thinking, but I have a limited budget."

Annabeth shrugged dismissingly. "I'll pay."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"I have more money than I know what to do with."

Silena gave Annabeth a dazzling smile. "Because you know how to work people. You're wise beyond your years."

Annabeth snorted. "You have no idea."

Annabeth pretended to listen as Silena went on about some new designer. She really couldn't care less. Annabeth had the most expensive of everything, but it was so materialistic it was disgusting. If there's one thing that hasn't changed over the years, it was the greed for power and worth.

Silena just kept going, forcing Annabeth to fake interested smiles, until her boyfriend came stumbling out of the guest bedroom, and she lost all interest in Annabeth.

"Charlie!" Silena exclaimed excitedly, rushing forwards to crush him in a hug.

"Good morning," he said sweetly, kissing her, before addressing the owner of the apartment. "Annabeth."

"Charles," she returned while sounding bored, not even looking at him.

"We're going shopping, so hurry up and get dressed." Silena kissed him one more time before flouncing back to Annabeth's side.

"Did you hear about what's going on with the president?" Charles asked, ignoring Silena's demand. "Apparently, there's a looming war."

"Who's the president again?" Annabeth asked.

"…Zeus?"

"Hm." Another sip of coffee. "There's been too many to remember."

"Hilarious, but I'm serious. France and Britain are threatening war on the United States."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Annabeth droned. "Do you know how many times that has happened?"

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Uh."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If they do declare war, so what? I doubt anything would happen."

"A lot of people could die," Charles pointed out hesitantly.

"I suppose." She clicked her tongue. "I still don't see what you're worried about. Either it'll happen or it won't. Nothing you do is going to change that."

"Someone's philosophical today," Silena teased. "I didn't know you were a philosophy major."

Annabeth laughed in her face, though Silena didn't know why.

Annabeth was a philosophy major. And a math major, and biology major, and just about any major you could think of. She's gone to college a lot. She's also caused a lot of problems in school because it was just so easy, and it would just be forgotten in a century or two anyways.

"Just having an existential crisis," Annabeth quipped, and they laughed, unaware of just how true it was.

She had those a lot. The worst one she could think of was around the 2000s when the World Trade Center had been hit, and she was standing right beside the building as it happened. She never forgot just how unfair it was that she was the one who got to survive, and she always would be.

Hours later, the existential crisis hadn't stopped, but it had been pushed to the back of her mind because she was too busy swiping her card at anything and everything she saw. She paid for Silena and Charles because they were the nicest humans she'd met since the 1900s, and also because why not?

Annabeth's hands slowly filled with shopping bags, and by the time they were sitting outside a small café, she had spent a couple thousands of dollars. She had another coffee in her hand because she had become obsessed centuries ago, and it's not like caffeine could kill her.

"This was the best day," Silena said, sagging in her chair like she'd shopped until she dropped. "Thank you so much, Annabeth."

Annabeth shrugged, keeping a cool exterior.

"How did you get so much money anyways?" Charles asked, quirking a brow. "You're only twenty-four."

"I stole it."

Silena laughed. "Seriously, though. How?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes! Tell me," Silena pleaded.

"I've been alive since medieval times, living through the Bubonic Plague and World War II and everything in between."

"Alright," Charles said slowly. "Keep your secrets."

Annabeth groaned. She tried.

Charles opened his mouth, probably to make another teasing remark, but then his phone started going off, and Annabeth and Silena's too. Soon enough, the entire café was ringing with phones, and people on the streets were stopping to read the alert, and then looking around, and—

"Fuck." Charles blinked at his phone. "Fuck, shit, fuck."

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, not bothering to look at her phone.

Charles held up his phone for her to read, and across the screen was an emergency alert, reading ATOMIC BOMB THREAT INBOUND ACROSS UNITED STATES. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, and then yeah, she could see where the panic was setting in.

"Uh." Annabeth blinked, people around them already beginning to go hysterical and look around for any form of safety, which there was none in the middle of the city. "I guess they declared war on us."

And then—

"What do we do?"

Silena and Charles were already out of their seats, Charles pushing Silena away, leaving Annabeth to fend for herself, which she found a little insulting considering everything she'd done for them, but she understood it was a natural human reaction. The human race was always so narcissistic, caring for no one but themselves.

Annabeth was left alone, and she had no idea what to do. The only thing she knew was that there was no escaping an atomic bomb, so she sat there, entirely numb.

Annabeth wasn't stupid. She knew she should be running too, trying to clear the streets of the city, but she couldn't find the effort. So many years and she still feared death, but she also wanted it. She's 2786 years old, and she wants to die.

It scares her that she isn't alarmed by that realization.

Why isn't she concerned?

So she stays where she is, unaware of the time passing, on the empty streets of the city, until the explosions start, rocking the ground. One by one, she can hear buildings collapsing miles away, and she stays still, waiting for the end to happen. Maybe it won't, but hopefully it will.

She waits and wait and waits, listening in the distance, until she looks up and barely has time to react before her entire world is thrown into nothing but heat and fire and screams and pain.

It hurts.

Annabeth can't help the scream as everything around her in engulfed in fire, and she heard the wails of millions of people, but it doesn't take long before they stop and all she can hear is herself.

The smell of burning flesh fills her nose, and it brought her back to when she was six-years-old, staring death in the face. It also doesn't take long before she realized it was her own skin, burning her alive with radiation and fire.

Her skin bubbles up, and at some point, her own screaming stops because she tore her vocal cords, but the pain never stops. It kept going, building up and up, and everything is completely demolished.

The world is reduced to a singularity: her.

It doesn't take her long to figure out that everything is gone. Not only New York, but the entire country, if not the entire world, because she's picked up on patterns. One country is attacked, it brings the allies in, and it's a nuclear was before anyone knows it.

This, though?

She feels it in her bones, in the boiling flesh and burning skin, in the fire burning her from the inside out. She feels it everywhere, and she always has, ever since her brother died. It's always been there, that out-of-body sense that there is a connection to something more than this life.

Annabeth curses herself for ever feeling the connection to permanency she felt when she was six. She doesn't want to be permanent, feeling every cell in her body die but being unable to die herself.

She curses herself for ever wanting to see something permanent, because permanency was awful.

Death was so much better.

Annabeth laid motionless on the crumbled ground, and rubble fell onto her and around her, and she has no way of knowing how long she stayed there. She wouldn't be surprised if it was years, decades, centuries, millennia since she moved, but it never stopped hurting, and she never stopping wishing death upon herself.

People want to live forever. If only they knew what it truly entailed.

Living forever entailed living through the worst. It means watching everyone you love and know die right in front of your eyes. It means time stopping and starting and twisting and doubling back and speeding forwards and blurring together. It means never dying but feeling every single ounce of pain inflicted on your body. It means wishing death every second of every day for your entire existence.

It means pain, suffering, screams, tears, heartbreak, and everything in between.

To Annabeth, it means numbness.

When she made an attempt to move long after things went silent, her body ignited into pain infinitely times worse than it had already been. She doesn't know how it's even possible to live beyond this threshold of pain. Maybe it isn't, but it is for her.

The idea of immortality is deceitful. She never asked for this.

Eventually, she has to stand. Her body screams for her to stop, and the radiation from the explosions never ceases to bubble and crack and burn her skin, but she struggles to a crawling position anyways, and begins to move.

She has to start somewhere. It's never going to end, and she knows that by now. She is forever, and it's the disgusting truth, but she can't lay here forever. If time is infinite, there will be a point that she gets up, because time never stops, and neither does she.

It's different now, though, because she's alone.

Annabeth had always been alone, ever since Malcolm got sick, and then Luke was beheaded right in front of her. She'd been alone since she lost some of the greatest people she ever met, but she still had company. She buried the scars and memories under new people and opportunities, but what opportunities were left when the world was demolished? When everything was reduced to ashes?

Exactly.

Nothing.

There was nothing left except a gaping hole in her heart, anguish in her gut, and death on her mind.

There was no more eating meals, or shopping, or playing with boys. There was no learning a new profession, or making new friends, or trying new things. There was no more living comfortably, or building new things, or making new memories and experiences. There was no more life on Earth.

There was no more anything.

Anything except her.

79,456,510

Annabeth flinched, tightening her bare arms around herself as the snow fell around her. She continued hiking through the mountains, unable to stop the violent shivers from working their way up and down her body.

She thinks she's somewhere in Alaska at that point. The biting wind around her confirmed her suspicions, and she's starting to regret not grabbing a jacket a few hundred years ago when she came across one. Annabeth had figured that it didn't really matter if she was cold or not because either way, she would survive. She was wrong though because it was still severely uncomfortable freezing your ass off in the middle of the mountains in Alaska.

As Annabeth worked to reach the top of the mountain, which would probably take a few more hours, she recalled the past. It was all she could do the ground her to reality, prevent insanity from taking over her mind.

She'd been alone for millions of years, walking the world by herself, only her shadow as company. Annabeth never stopped moving, trying to waste as much time as possible, again, not that it made any difference.

At some point, the world slowly returned to normal, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been. The radiation lifted off after a couple of thousands of years, so the planet became as it once was before civilization took over, fields of green and sparkling snow.

It was ironic how beautiful it was, compared to the depths of Annabeth's mind. How something so corrupt could have such a pure appearance, making one really delve inside to see the flaws.

Annabeth laughed at the thought, muttering to herself just to hear a human voice. She did that a lot, actually. She would just talk and talk in an attempt to remember how to speak at all, but even she knew it would probably disappear at some point.

Her body screamed for her to stop moving and let it rest, but she didn't listen. She kept moving up the mountain for hours, passing a few wild animals that had survived the worldwide nuclear war, until the sun began to set, and she finally reached the summit, looking at her breath that was now visible in the below zero temperature.

She settled down into the snow for the night, underneath a large tree. The snow underneath her slowly made her go numb, her fingers and toes tingling, but she didn't bother moving. It hurt, of course, because living forever doesn't eliminate pain, but it was nothing compared to the way her skin burned in the radiation. Over time, her skin at healed, but she could never forget the way it felt to be burned alive.

Annabeth cradled herself as she lay in the snow, closing her eyes and waiting for exhaustion to take over. Her brain was moving too quickly, like it was detached from herself, and she found herself annoyed. It was all she ever did, thinking. She never, ever stopped thinking, no matter how badly she wanted to.

She was living a nightmare that she would never wake up from.

Eventually, though, after hours laying on the hard ground, sleep overcame her. Like usual, sleep was no refuge from this life. She dreamt of life how it used to be, surrounded by people. She dreamt of her family, who she hasn't seen in so long that she doesn't even remember what they looked like. It was a nice escape while she was still out, but it was so much worse when she came back, knowing what she had lost.

So she stayed asleep for as long as she possibly could, remembering life as it was so long ago, enjoying it while she still could. She didn't wake up for a long time. Not until the rustling around her began and her natural instincts kicked in.

Annabeth shot up, her heart pounding as she tried to grasp what was going on. It was still dark out, except for the faint light twinkling off in the distance, and the rustling stopped.

She breathed out, fingers going to run through her tangled curls. She could've sworn she heard something approaching her, but now it had disappeared, and she was more on edge than before. Her hand went to tighten around the hilt of a knife she picked up years ago.

Annabeth chalked it up to being a wild animal curious about her, so she forced herself to calm down and lay back down, fingers still tracing the lines of her knife.

Old Annabeth would've went to investigate, desperate to stop any pain that might be bestowed upon her, but she's also not interested enough to do anything. Moving around might just make the creature attack anyways. Besides, how much more pain could she possibly be put in?

The adrenaline running through her body did not fade with time, though. Even as morning came around, she could not stop that sinking feeling in her gut. As she continued around the mountain, looking for somewhere new to settle, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

The sun came and went again, and it was a day like every other. She didn't eat anything, just like she hadn't eaten anything the day before, or the day before that. She doesn't remember the last time she did eat.

This time, Annabeth was settled against a big rock on the edge of the mountain, overlooking everything below. There was a lovely view from where she sat, glistening white trees as far as the eye could see. She admired the view, watching the sky slowly fade away and into a painting of stars, something she hasn't done in a long time.

It was hypnotizing, instilling a sense of peace inside of her that she didn't know she could feel anymore. She traced the sky, a tiny smile gracing her lips, and—

A twig cracked behind her and her hand came back up to the hilt of the knife. She turned, and another twig cracked, causing her to slowly get to her feet and look into the dark. She couldn't see anything in the distance, the lighting of the moon too dim. She glanced around one more time before turning back to face the cliff, and—

"Who are you?"

Annabeth jumped out of her skin, waving the knife in front of her. There was a man standing tall, face brooding, and he had a sword of his own pointed straight at her. His hair was blowing in the wind, and she could just barely see the green outline of his eyes.

Annabeth stumbled backwards, keeping her knife poised at him. When she spoke, her voice was wobbly. "I could ask you the same."

"Who are you?" he repeated forcefully, the tip of the blade getting closer to her until she was cornered against the boulder.

Annabeth's eyes were wide, brain desperately trying to process what was going on. There was a person standing in front of her, unless she was dreaming, except, no she wasn't dreaming because this was actually happening.

She stayed silent, challenging him with her eyes, because she had no idea who this man was, or how he could've possibly even been here standing in front of her, or—

"Are you going to answer my question, or do you want this blade through you?"

Annabeth bit her lip, trying to hide the trembling of her muscles. "Tough talk for someone who can't even kill me."

"Your name," he repeated, pressing the metal into her chest. Chills broke out over her again, racing down her spine.

"Annabeth," she gave in, deciding that having a sword through her wouldn't kill her but it would sure as hell hurt. Also, she was kind of not herself right now. She felt like she was about to pass out.

He glared at her, as though trying to read her thoughts. She felt like her world was spinning, because she hadn't talked to an actual person in tens of millions of years. How is this possible?

"Are you going to stand there about to stab me, or do you plan on telling me who you are?" she managed, still stumbling over her words.

"I'm trying to figure out what exactly you are." He had a guarded stance.

"Uh." She swallowed. "Well, I'm a person, same as you."

"That's not possible."

"Huh?"

"Humans don't exist," he stressed, licking his bottom lip. "You can't be here. It's not possible."

"I can say the same for you. Please put your sword away."

"Put your knife away."

"You can't kill me," she warned. "Put it away."

His face morphed into shock, and his weapon only lowered slightly. "What do you mean I can't kill you?"

Annabeth froze. "Exactly that?"

"You too?" His sword lowered completely to the ground, and she blinked at him cluelessly. Her eyes stayed glued to the blade, praying he won't jab it into her. "You're stuck here too?"

And just like that, her brain started playing again. "Stuck here? You can't die either?"

He choked. "No, I can't."

Annabeth was pretty sure she was gaping like a fish, but she's also pretty sure that it is appropriate. She was alone on this planet, except now she's staring into the eyes of a guy who was also alone on this planet meaning… neither of them were ever actually alone?

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

She pointed to her head. "Pretty sure I'm having a stroke, so don't mind me."

"Do you need to sit?"

"Uh." She laughed nervously. "Probably, but— I feel like this is all just some elaborate prank."

"I know the feeling."

Annabeth nibbled on her lower lip before nodding to him again. "What was your name?"

"Oh. It's Percy."

"Percy," she repeated. "When you say you're stuck, you mean…"

"I can't die. I've been alive for— I'm not even sure anymore."

"So you survived the end of the world?"

"The nuclear war? Unfortunately."

Annabeth breathed heavily, sniffling in the cold. She was sure she wasn't reacting as she should be. She really should've questioned him more because what type of person just accepts the fact that there's someone like them when they haven't had human interaction since before the nuclear apocalypse?

Still. If this was real, there was no way she was passing up the opportunity to talk to someone, even if they were a manic killer.

"I didn't think there was anyone out there," she settled for. "I thought it was just me."

Percy gave a strangled laugh. "You and me both."

"I'm not going to even try and lie. I have no idea what to do now."

"I feel like we should probably sit down and figure things out."

"Like what?"

"Like— why are we even here in the first place?"

Annabeth snorted. "If there was a reason, I think we would've figured it out a long time ago."

"But now there's two of us. Maybe there was something we were missing."

Annabeth doubted that, but she gave in, nodding slowly. Percy took a step closer and she had to fight the urge to flinch. He dropped his sword into the snow a few meters away, and she followed his lead, before his back was sliding against the bounder to a sitting position.

She hesitated to sit next to him, and he must've noticed because he said, "What's the worst I can do? Push you off the cliff? It's not like you'll die."

Annabeth glared at him.

"I'm not going to push you off the cliff."

Content, she dropped next to him, hands going to land in her lap. It was silent for a few seconds before she felt his eyes on the side of her face.

"You seem nervous," he pointed out.

"You seem too casual."

He snickered. "Right? It's just— I don't know. What else are we supposed to do? Walk away from the only other person to exist?"

Annabeth found herself grinning. "Let's not do that."

"Agreed." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "You go first. Tell me your life story."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "My life story is long."

"We've got time."

So they do.

"Well, I was born in France. I was six when the whole Black Death happened. I was the only one in my family to survive," she said, deciding to get straight to the point. No hovering around the topic.

Percy's eyes looked at her with sympathy. She hasn't felt that in a long time.

"Then, I lived through the French Revolution. I was arrested and sentenced to the guillotine. Obviously, that didn't work. I moved to New York somewhere after that and that's where I was when everything ended. After that, I've just been wandering around pointlessly until now."

Percy pondered that for a moment, nodding slowly. "That's a lot. I'm sorry."

"I've forgotten most of the details by now." Annabeth shifted, looking out over the cliff. At some point, a soft glow of colors began, and they were still faint, but growing. "You go."

"I was born around World War II. That was the first major memory I had."

"You're a baby!" she cooed.

"Shut up." His ears reddened, or maybe they were like that from the cold. "In the grand scheme of things, that's barely an age difference."

"Baby," she repeated. "Where were you born?"

"I was in Greece. I stayed there for a while before moving to the United States. After that, I never really stayed in one spot. I was trying to fulfil some need for normalcy, you know? Trying to figure out the meaning of life when everyone around you is dying."

"But why Alaska?"

Percy shrugged, producing a backpack from beside him that she somehow hadn't even noticed he had. Her senses must have gotten worse over time. He pulled a small mechanical box out of it and started fidgeting with some knobs. "After everything sort of went to shit, I found this radio. There were a few signals years after the initial bombs, but then they stopped. I was looking around for a while, but I figured they weren't real once I couldn't find anyone."

Annabeth tilted her head, gently taking the radio from his hands and turning it over. It was really run down and looked like it had been dropped too many times. "These signals— why were you looking for them?"

"I thought maybe someone else survived."

She kept looking at the radio, wistful. If they were both still alive, then what's to say that no one else was too? "When was the last signal?"

"Millions of years ago."

There goes that idea.

Annabeth let him take the metal radio back, looking at the prominent colorful lights flowing in the area in front of them. "Do you think there's anyone else out there?"

"I don't know. Do you?" Percy looked at her curiously.

"No. At least, I didn't think there was, but now that I met you? Who knows."

Percy cleared his throat, and she turned to address him. "This is going to sound really weird."

"Oh, boy. What is it?"

"Do you want to help me keep looking? For the radio signals?"

"I thought you stopped looking for them."

"I did, but…" Percy threw his hands up. "I just don't want to be alone, okay? It kind of sucks, in case you haven't realized."

Annabeth started laughing because he looked genuinely nervous to have even asked that. "If you think I was about to walk off into the world alone for who knows how long, you are severely mistaken."

"Good to know I'm stuck with you," he joked, but she could tell he was relieved.

Percy was surprisingly easy to get along with, she learned as they continued to talk. He was such a kind person with quick comebacks, and he seemed too innocent for this world. Annabeth had grown with the universe, slowly becoming darker as the world turned crueler, but him? She knew without a doubt as he confided his life to her that he never got worse. He took everything with stride and made the best he could with what he had.

She learned that once he started talking, he wouldn't stop, too excited getting to know someone. He listened to her words carefully and didn't make her feel bad for not being as enthusiastic about the world as he was.

"The world isn't that bad," he tried, humored. "It sucks that we're stuck here, but it's an amazing thing if you really think about it."

"The world loses all appeal when they forced me to stay here forever."

"But if you disregard that, it's a beautiful place. Lighten up on the pessimism."

"What about this do you think is worth living forever to see?"

"It's not that it's worth living forever to see, but if you have to live forever, you might as well find its worth."

"Woah, Socrates."

"All I'm saying is it might be easier if you learn to appreciate what you do have instead of focusing on what you don't." Percy thought for a moment. "Look right in front of you for example. Do you know what they're called?"

Annabeth glanced at the colorful lights again. "I'm not stupid, Percy."

"I'm asking because I don't know."

Annabeth snorted. "They're the Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis."

"You're practically google on legs," he said. "But look at it. Really focus on it."

She groaned but did as he told, staring at the phenomenon occurring in front of her. It overtook the entire valley in front of the cliff, lighting up everywhere with swaying arrays of greens and pinks and blues and purples. And beyond the lights was the night sky, thousands of stars visible in the center of the galaxy.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"Lights."

"Is that all you see?"

She stayed silent, unsure of what he wanted her to say.

"Where you see lights, I see a planet capable of creating amazing things. I see magic and wonder and curiosity. I see a world unexplored."

"How do you do that? Want to see the world after everything its done?"

"I don't think it's the world that did anything. I'm not sure why we are the way we are, but I'm not sure there is a reason why. Sometimes, ugly things just happen that are out of your control, which is why I try to look at the greatness of the universe. I can't control what's going on around me, but I can control the way I react."

Annabeth looked back out at the valley, trying to see things from his perspective. He was right. They looked out at the lights for a while in silence, and Annabeth's arms wrapped around herself, suddenly getting cold again.

Percy noticed, and immediately started moving, taking his jacket off of his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked, alarmed.

"You're cold." Once the soft fabric was off, he held it out towards her, but she didn't move to take it from him. "Have my jacket."

"It's yours," she protested. "I'm okay."

"You're freezing, and you've probably been like that for a long time now." He shook the jacket to prove his point. "Take it. I'll be okay for a while."

Annabeth wanted to say no because it was his jacket and he deserved to have it so much more than her. She didn't deserve anything, and she didn't want anything she didn't deserve, but then it was already in her lap and warm from his body heat, and she couldn't resist.

"Thank you," she muttered, shrugging his jacket on, immediately sighing in the warmth that confined her. The jacket was a little big, but it was thick and worn in, and it was the first time the unbearable chills stopped racking through her skin.

Percy only had a tight t-shirt on, and she felt guilty all over again, but before she could say anything, he was softly elbowing her side, still admiring Alaska's mountains.

"How come you don't like to stop and take in the world around you?" he asked quietly, for just the two of them.

She sighed deeply. "You're Greek. Do you know the story of Kronos?"

"Vaguely."

"He was a Titan. He got into some trouble with the gods and ended up losing a war against them. As a punishment, he was cut into pieces and thrown into the pit of Tartarus, or what we would refer to as Hell." She wringed her fingers together, trying to figure out the best way to word what she hasn't even told herself. "I feel like Kronos. I'm so deep in Tartarus and I can't get out because there are just pieces of me everywhere, and it just gets worse as time goes on. I'm stuck forever, and I can be chopped to pieces and thrown to Hell, but I can't die. There's a beautiful world outside of Tartarus that I can't see because I am stuck in this hole."

"So you feel too detached from the world?"

"Yeah. It's like I know it's there, but I can't see it." Annabeth sniffed. "It doesn't make sense. I'm sorry."

"It makes perfect sense," he argued gently. "That's the first time I've been remotely close to understanding what it is that even I'm going through. I promise it makes sense."

"At least you can separate yourself from your feelings," she said.

"I couldn't always. I learned to just stop and take a deep breath. Sometimes, that's all you can do, and you'd be surprised how much it helps."

So Annabeth did. She took a deep breath and gazed out in front of her, trying to bring herself out of the depths of Hell. If only for a little while, it worked.

Annabeth knew it wouldn't always be easy. She wasn't going to just change at the snap of her fingers. The hatred for the life she has will never disappear. She will always wish deep down inside of here that she was gone, because this is not life. Life shouldn't want to make you scream and cry until you physically couldn't anymore.

But maybe it could get better. There was the terrible and the awful, but there was more than just that. Percy was able to calm himself and step back from what he couldn't control, and he isn't much younger than she is. If he's able to, then she can do it too.

And going through this journey with a friend might help her. She's known Percy for not even a day, but she wouldn't mind staying with him. Maybe it was the fact that he was the first person she's seen in forever, or maybe he was just a genuinely good guy. Having someone to ground her to reality, to remind her to take a step back and breathe.

Annabeth leaned slightly against him in silence, resting her head on his shoulder, craving touch. He let her, probably feeling the same way, his arm going around her side. He felt warm despite being in the snow.

It was quiet for a while longer as for the first time, she let herself let go and just be in the moment, appreciating the light in front of her. It was truly magnificent.

"You know, I've never done this before," she whispered, breath fogging in front of her. She shivered slightly and his arm rubbed her back to bring back warmth.

"Done what?"

"This. Taken a moment to sit and really look at what the world has to offer. It's hard to see the beauty after so many years of suffering. It's a nice change."

Percy's arm pulled away from her and he moved to look her in the eyes. He seemed thoughtful, and she was not expecting him to say what he did. "Let's go on an adventure."

"What?"

"You've never seen the world from my point of view. I want you to try."

"I don't—"

"We've been here for a long time and we still have barely even scratched the surface of everything amazing in the world. What do we have to lose?"

"You want to travel the world?" she asked, thinking he was kidding.

"There's still so much for us to do. This is an opportunity," he said. "A chance at a second life."

She slowly broke out into a grin and her stomach fluttered. Maybe this was what she needed— to get a new start, to see the things she's never given a second thought before. An opportunity to see things from a new perspective. "You want to show me the wonders of life?"

"Why not?" he asked, laughing. "We've only got all the time in the world."

"Do you know how to sail a boat?" Annabeth asked, her arms crossed as she watched him struggle to anchor it in place.

"I'm not a sailor," he murmured, grinning victoriously once the boat stopped moving in the water. "I did it!"

"It only took you two years," she said, looking at a pretend watch on her wrist.

"I'm the one who got you all the way from Alaska to Australia, so I'd shut up."

"You were about to circle around Africa before I fixed the map," she said, snorting. "I got us here. You just got us the boat sailing."

"This is a big boat," he pointed out, leaning over the edge of it.

Annabeth joined him at the mast, looking out into the clear waters. Percy's first stop after proposing that they go around the world was Australia, and it took a few months of finding the proper boat that survived this long, but they finally made it, and it was breathtaking.

Percy had desperately wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef, and he had seemed so excited that she mindlessly agreed, unaware of how much of a baby he was while steering a boat. Now that they were finally here, docking close enough to the reef to get there fast while swimming but still far enough to not damage any coral with the anchor.

"Where did you learn to sail?" she asked, watching a colorful fish swim around the clear water.

"I grew up in Greece," he said. "My dad loved the ocean. He's the one that taught me what I know. He died when I was still really young, though."

Annabeth didn't apologize, because she knew it wouldn't do anything.

"Anyways," he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing excitedly. "Are you ready for your first lesson in being happy?"

She scoffed. "That is not the point of this trip."

"You're right. The point is to see the world for what it is, and maybe making you not grumpy will be a bonus!"

"I will swim away into the depths of the ocean and never see you again," she threatened. "I can do it and be fine."

"You could, but why would you want to when you can see the liveliest coral reef in the world!" he said, pointing off in the distance. "Look."

Annabeth followed his path, and what she saw took her breath away.

It was barely visible from where they were, but it was there. There was a bunch of coral, huge without dealing with the presence of humans, and she already knew there were tons of sea creatures thriving.

"You ready?" he asked, turning to look at her in her t-shirt and shorts she'd been lucky enough to find.

"Let's do this," she said, taking his hand and jumping into the crystal waters together. When she came above the water, she was shrieking with laughter, amazed by how the cool water felt against the heat of the sun.

She had been worried earlier that she'd forgotten how to swim, but she was doing alright with Percy's arm supporting her waist. She kicked her feet underneath her to stay up, unable to stop the aching grin across her face. And Percy was looking at her like she was the only person in the world (which she was), trying to make sure she was happy.

"I hope you know how to swim," he said, but he was already pulling a long, red floatie off the boat, knowing they'd both get tired of staying afloat soon enough.

Percy led her off towards the reef, and she held onto the float to stay up. It was an excruciating wait because all she wanted to do was look at the pretty view of coral and fish, with the shore of Australia in the background, but they finally made it, and it was worth the wait.

"This is…" Annabeth looked beneath her at an iridescent fish swimming around her feet, curious of the two strangers in its habitat. "This is amazing."

Percy smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

Annabeth abandoned the float to kick over to a huge piece of coral, vaguely registering Percy's warning not to touch it unless she wants to get stung. It was so much bigger than she ever imagined, stretching into the distance, and she can't believe she didn't come to see this sooner.

"So," Percy whispered into her ear. "Do you still think you can't see the beauty in the world because you've seen the ugly?"

Annabeth turned around, her arms going to wrap around his neck. Her face buried into the skin of his neck, and he was so soft. It pained her to even imagine what he once felt like, skin boiled over by the radiation. "I'm getting there," she mumbled against the crook of his neck, her lips brushing slightly. "Thank you."

Percy supported her weight using the red float, joining her in simply staying afloat and eyeing the biodiversity. "I didn't think it would look like this."

"Haven't you been here before?" she asked.

"I have, but it was a long time ago. It's grown so much."

"You mean it wasn't always like this?"

Percy shook his head, lips parted slightly in amazement. "Coral takes a long time to grow. When there were humans here, it was big, but it was constantly being broken from sailing over it, or fishing, not to mention the invasive species bleaching the coral."

"Hm." Annabeth scrunched her eyebrows. "Bleaching coral?"

Percy looked around the coral, trying to pinpoint one thing in particular, but when he came up empty, he just shook his head. "I don't see any now, but there used to be a starfish— the crown of thorns. It would feed on algae in the coral, making it turn white. It was really killing coral here."

"How do you know so much about the ocean?"

"I sort of had a thing for the ocean back then."

"You had an ocean kink?" she joked.

"Something like that," he said passively. "It's kind of sad when you realize the damage humanity did. Think about how big this reef would be if we never killed it in the first place."

"It's better off without us," she realized. She adjusted herself to latch onto Percy's back while he kept them above water. "Since you're a water boy, tell me what you know. Seduce me with your coral spiel."

Percy threw his head back, laughing as she gripped onto him like a koala. "What do you want to know?"

"How does coral form?"

"From what I remember, it was something along the Darwin-Dana-Daly theory. A fringing reef forms on an island first, and as the island sinks, it becomes a barrier reef. That's what this is. Eventually, it might become an atoll, but there's still a while."

Annabeth exhaled, still in complete amazement. "This reef is old then."

"Very."

Annabeth swung around to his frontside, her legs wrapping around his waist. He just moved his hands to hold her. "Who's older? Us or this reef?"

"Oh, the reef. For sure."

"That's embarrassing," she said seriously. "And here I thought we were the oldest beings in existence."

Percy snickered.

"I love this," she said. "Where do we go next?"

"You want to leave already?"

"Not yet. I just want to know what you have that could possibly top this."

"Oh, I have plenty to top this. I'm planning on dragging you around the world."

"If you must," she said, feigning indifference. "Let's see it, then."

And they did.

For the next few years, Percy dragged her everywhere around the world, showing her only the best spots. They went through Egypt, looking at the ancient pyramids, and they moved through Africa, before circling up around Europe. They saw the seven wonders of the world, and with each place they visited, she found a little more appreciation for life.

It never disappeared, but it got easier with him by her side.

Percy never ceased to amaze her day after day. She was stuck with him for the rest of eternity, but she didn't mind. If there was anyone she had to be stuck with, it was him and his loving personality. He was such a positive soul, and he balanced her out. She told him just that somewhere along the lines of Greece.

"I think you're my other half," she said, dragging her fingers along the columns of the Parthenon.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean to tell me you're from Greece and you don't know the story of the other half?"

"Enlighten me."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, sitting on the ruins of the Parthenon and patting beside her for him to sit. He obeyed, settling next to her and leaning back to lay down and look up at the sky with her.

"In Plato's The Symposium, Aristophanes tells the story of soulmates. People were created with two heads, four arms, and four legs. The Gods feared that these people would be too powerful, so they punished them. The Gods split the people into two, and these people were soulmates. They would wander the world alone until they find their soulmate, at which point they just knew they were made for each other. They would be joined together for the rest of life."

"That's a bit bizarre," Percy said.

"But if you think about it, it's kind of like us. We were split into two, wandering the world by ourselves until we found each other in Alaska. We've stayed together since then, almost like we were bound together by some force."

"That would imply we were soulmates," Percy said, but he was grinning, so she knew he didn't mind.

"Maybe we are," she admitted. "Maybe we're the only people left on Earth because we were soulmates waiting to find each other."

"Do you really believe in soulmates?"

"Not in the sense that Aristophanes puts it," she said. "But I do believe that two people can be made for each other, feeling complete until they find the other person."

A few minutes went by with them gazing up at the fluffy white clouds, which was a wonder of the world itself. When he spoke, it was quiet, as though confirming something. "Do you feel complete?"

She looked at him softly. "I do."

She didn't need to say that she loved him, and he didn't need to say he loved her. They knew it. Just like Aristophanes puts it, they felt joined, existing in unison. They were opposites that worked so well, and it took a long time to find each other in this mess of the world, but in the grand scheme of things, it really took no time at all. Not compared to what they had left.

"Do you want to keep moving?" he asked. "There's still the rest of the Acropolis to see."

"Can we stay here a little while longer? It's nice to be with other immortals."

He raised an eyebrow in question. "Do you believe in the Greek Gods?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I mean, I find it hard to believe, so not really, but who knows? We're immortal."

"You've got a point there." Percy chuckled. "You remind me of her, you know."

"Of who?"

"Athena," he said, nodding his head towards the inside of the Parthenon. "I think you're pretty similar in some ways."

"Really?"

"Mhm. Growing up in Greece, you learn a lot about the Greek myths. Athena was goddess of wisdom. She was viewed as put together, and almost stoic."

Annabeth snorted. "I wouldn't say I'm very wise so much as I am stubborn. I couldn't even open myself up to trust the world before you came along."

"That's why you're wise. You were in pain, so you shut out anything that might make it worse. You were protecting yourself. That isn't stubborn— that's smart."

"Okay," she said, humoring him. "If I'm Athena, then what are you?"

"I'd say I'm pretty similar to Poseidon, practically living in the ocean."

"Didn't they have some sort of huge rivalry?"

"They did," he confirmed.

"Athena and Poseidon as soulmates." She choked on air, laughing at the incredulity of it all. "Yeah, right."

"Opposites attract, right?"

"So you like Athena."

"Oh, no." Percy whistled. "That woman is scary. Hell no. It's you that I like."

"I can live with that," she said, nudging his stomach and sitting up. "Let's visit Italy next. I've always wanted to see Pompeii."

"We can leave tomorrow." Percy grabbed her hand, brushing his lips against her knuckles. She smiled at him softly, brushing his hair away from his forehead, and she let him lay for a little while longer, just staring up at the sky without a care in the world.

She had come so far in the past few years with him. The years with him passed in the blink of an eye, and it's possible she would've yearned for those years again, but she knows she has him forever.

There were days that she reverted back to her old self. Sometimes, she didn't want to do anything except lay down. It would last days, or occasionally months, but Percy would just nod and lay down with her. He understood how hard it was. He was the only one who ever would understand.

And then Percy had those days too. There were times when he would want to stay in one spot and do nothing except breath, and she would help him through it. Everything went on hold, because time was nothing but a word at this point, and she would support him.

Living forever was not fun. It got better, but it never got bearable. There were times she could forget, and those moments were ones she strived for with him.

She kind of loved him.

Percy's lips brushed against her knuckles again, bringing her attention back to him. He was looking up at her now, a soft smile on his face. His eyes were burning with curiosity.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Have you done this before?"

She furrowed her brows. "I've never been here before, if that's what you're asking."

"I know that, but I mean…" Percy sighed. "Been with a person before, like this."

"Like this?" she teased.

"You know what I mean."

Annabeth's smile fell slightly as she remembered the first man she had loved. It had been so long since she had thought of him. He was one thing she could look back on with fondness. "Once," she admitted.

Percy didn't prod, letting her go on when she felt ready.

"His name was Luke Castellan. I met him while I was still in France." Annabeth rolled her shoulders to ease her now tense back. "It was a little before the French Revolution. We were never married, but… I loved him."

Percy's thumb gently ran over her fingers one by one, and she felt comfortable under his touch. She trusted him.

"I fell in love with him. He was the only person I ever told about my immortality. He thought I was joking at first, but then he believed me. He was a lovely person."

"What happened?" Percy asked quietly.

"Well, it was during the Reign of Terror. He tried to protect me, and one day when I got home, he had been arrested. I tried to save him, but I ended up getting arrested too." She took a deep inhale. "He was sentenced to the guillotine. He went right before me."

Percy watched as her eyes started tearing up, but he stayed silent, choosing to comfort her with his gentle caress.

"I used to think it was my fault. It was me who spoke out against the revolution. The people around us would never have targeted him if it hadn't been for me. I felt like he was killed because he associated with me."

"Annabeth," he said, his green eyes vibrant and loving. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know that now. The only person at fault was the person sentencing the deaths, but at the time, I felt responsible." Annabeth pursed her lips, closing her eyes to remember him for a second, before smiling at Percy. "What about you? Any special ladies?"

Percy gave a lopsided smile. "One. It was before I knew I was immortal."

Annabeth nodded for him to go on.

"Her name was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was determined to go by her three names." Percy unconsciously turned brighter as he thought of her. "I fell in love with her in college. We were together for five years, and I was planning to propose, but I never got to."

"What happened?"

"Freak accident. She died before she turned thirty, and I didn't."

"I'm so sorry, Percy."

"It's okay, because now I have you."

Percy didn't need to say it for her to know what he meant.

They had each other now. Annabeth was so lucky to have loved Luke, but now she had Percy. Luke changed her for the better, and she's grateful for that, but what she has now with Percy is different. She has someone who can understand her in ways Luke couldn't, and it's not to diminish Luke, but to show just how much she needed Percy.

Maybe they really were each other's other halves.

Annabeth wasn't going to pressure Percy to say the three words though. Not now, after their first loves are fresh on their minds. That can wait a little bit longer, because love doesn't weaken with time, and they have plenty of time.

Annabeth can wait. She doesn't need Percy to be hers quite yet, because he's already her best friend. He's the love of her life, and that isn't going to change, so whether she tells him in Venice or Rome or neither, she's okay.

She loves him.

He's already hers until the end of time.

This was another one of the harder days, Annabeth realized, but not for the reason she would've ever guessed.

Annabeth grasped Percy's hand in hers tightly, staring down the empty ruins of Paris. A lot of things were destroyed, with rubble everywhere, but a lot had also lasted so many years, and it was staring Annabeth in the face.

She didn't think she'd ever be back here, standing in the place where it all began. For so long, she had been terrified of returning to France, unable to face her past, yet here she was.

Percy squeezed her hand, offering her reassurance, and she took a step forwards, her body knowing what it was doing before her mind did. She walked down the streets, turning every once in a while, until she was standing in front of the place she was born.

1341.

79,455,174 years ago.

So long ago, she was brought into this world, surrounded by her family and the people that would become her friends. She was so blissfully ignorant back then of everything to come.

At six, she lost her entire family. Her brother, and her best friend, died in her arms, in the place she was standing right in front of.

It had changed a lot. It no longer looked like it once did. Now, it was more stable, and it was decorated as a dainty bakery, but this was still the same spot in her mind.

A single tear fell down her face as she stared at her old home. Percy's arm came up around her, pulling her into his side and letting her cry into his shirt. He didn't know what was going on— she didn't tell him all the small details, but he was still here, comforting her. He deserved to know her past.

"This is where I was born," she managed through tears, pointing at the small building. "It– it didn't look like this before. It didn't have the windows or electricity or floors, but this is it." She peered through the windows, shaking slightly. "That's where Malcolm died."

Annabeth led Percy through the creaking door, stepping over a little bit of mold and muddy water. The wooden floor groaned under their weight as she walked towards a corner of the room, remembering all too vividly what his body had looked like, bloody and bruised.

She bent down in the corner, pressing a hand to the floor. Percy crouched next to her, hand resting on the small of her back. "Malcolm was—" She hiccupped. "He was only seven. He tried to get me out of the country, so I didn't get sick, but… he was only seven. The night before we were going to leave, he got sick. I had to watch as he started coughing blood and developing the black boils on his skin." She bit back a sob. "He died in my arms."

"Annabeth?" he enquired. "You don't have to do this to yourself."

"I want you to know where I come from." She looked around to the opposite corner. "That's where my parents died. You would've liked them. You would've liked all of them."

Percy helped her back to her feet, and she turned to face him as she did so.

"This was my home," she whispered.

Percy lifted the side of his mouth, pulling her in to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I know."

They spent a little more time there, and Annabeth wondered if Malcolm was watching her from wherever he was. It was the closest she felt to him in a long time. As they were leaving, she shot one last look back, giving it a small smile. It felt a lot like closure.

Then they were heading down the street again, hand in hand. They walked for a couple of hours, Annabeth admiring how much everything had changed but also stayed the same. They neared the center of Paris, and she had to stop again once she reached the Place de la Concorde.

She stopped in front of the public square, thinking back to 79,454,722 years ago when there had been a guillotine standing and she had to watch the head of the man she loved come off.

"This is where he was executed," she said, nearing the old placement of the guillotine. "It was right here."

"The guillotine?"

She nodded, analyzing the placement. "I stood over there," she said, pointing. "I couldn't move as they forced him to the ground and put his head under the blade. I didn't actually watch it— I couldn't, but there were people cheering, and—"

Percy let her have a moment. It was hard, facing this. She didn't think she ever would again, yet here she was. It was refreshing, but it was terrifying, and the chills running down her back were uncontrollable.

"They locked us up in a cell in that area," she said, motioning in the general direction. "We were there for days."

"Do you need to take a break?" he asked, eyeing her cautiously. "This is a lot to take in."

Annabeth sniffed and stands straight, looking down the road and spotting something in the distance. "I need to do this."

They reach the Notre Dame around golden hour, and she flashes back to six-years-old again, when she dropped down against the wall because her ankles could no longer carry her around the heaps of dead bodies.

"The Notre Dame," she announced. "Been standing since 1163. It's survived the Bubonic Plague, the French Revolution, World War I and II, a fire in 2018, and the end of the world. It's survived everything."

She admired it some, relishing in the glow of the sun against the stone. This building never ceases to amaze her. Sure, the Northern Lights and Great Barrier Reef were stunning, but this building is remarkable. It isn't a force of nature. This was built by the hands of humans before she was even born. For something to survive like that— it's awe-inspiring.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, already sitting down onto the brick roadway to watch the sun set over the building. He could sense the need to slow down. "Let's have a snack."

Annabeth agreed, taking a seat on the hard ground and accepting the crackers he offered. She slowly nibbled at them, not really hungry but knowing she has to eat something.

She tilted her head thoughtfully as they ate, looking at the sharp edges of the Notre Dame. If one thing hasn't changed since last time she was here, it was the connection she felt to the building. She still isn't sure what it is, but she suspects that it has something to do with the fact that it was still standing and so was she.

At six, she had felt the connection, so it's possible it was her subconscious telling herself she was here forever before she actually discovered it.

The fact that she ever wanted to build something permanent to ground her to reality makes her want to laugh in her kid-self's face. It's insane that she would ever want something permanent. She knows better now.

"So you know a lot about the Notre Dame?"

"Not really. I just know I feel drawn to it."

"Why?"

"I used to not be sure, but I'm starting to think it's because it's still standing to this day. It was one of the first things I saw, and I grew up with it around me. To see that it's still standing, and I am too, is just— unfathomable." Annabeth leaned against Percy as he twirled a strand of her curls around his finger. "When I was younger, all I wanted was to build something permanent."

"Why didn't you?"

"I realized how hard it is, being permanent in a world like this."

Percy hummed in silent agreement, and she almost forgot about what she said until he spoke up again. "We're permanent. You and I, together."

Her eyes sparkled. "We are."

"It's you and me forever."

"I can live with that," she said, tilting her head back against his chest too look at him. "I kinda like you."

Percy brushed her hair behind her ear, and his hand went up to caress her cheek. "I kinda love you." Percy gently tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her with as much love and affection as he could pour into it.

Annabeth breathed out, her hand threading in his black hair, her eyes fluttering closed. He was warm, just like that night in Alaska, and he tasted like the memory of the Great Barrier Reef, and he felt like her forever.

"I love you," he whispered, nudging her nose with his. Her heart felt complete with him here. She doesn't know how she found him in all of this hell, but she is so incredibly glad that she did.

"I love you too," she said, and then he kissed her again, and for a while, everything was perfect. There was no immortality or loneliness or death. There was only them, and it would always be them.

"Thank you for showing me this," he said, gesturing around him so she knew he meant everything in general. Her life. "I know it couldn't have been easy."

"Of course," she said, smiling into another kiss because it felt like too long since it last happened. "If you're going to get me, you're going to get all of me, and that's a promise."

"I'm holding you to that." Percy's arms came around her and pulled her into his lap, hugging her tight against him. It was a reassurance that he wasn't going anywhere. His hands slid up and down her back, and she slumped against him, eyes pulling shut.

Where was he all her life?

He completed her in more way than one, and she's starting do believe in Aristophanes words because they felt like soulmates. If immortality existed, what's to say other things didn't? Nothing was certain anymore.

Percy made her whole, and he made her a better person. He reminded her to breathe, and she loved him, and now he knew.

"Where do you want to go next?" Percy murmured into her ear, sending a strong shudder down her back. "Anywhere you want."

Annabeth ground down slightly, lips trailing up his neck until she reached his ear, where she whispered, "How about nowhere?" before kissing the curve of his ear and tugging his earlobe into her mouth.

Percy's hands went to grasp her waist, letting her plant kisses along his mouth and the curve of his neck and jaw, before pulling away enough to look her in the eyes. Their faces were only inches away, and she could see his pupils dilated despite the light still outside. "Do you know any nice places in Paris?"

Annabeth kissed his swollen lips again before helping him up. "I know just the place."

Percy's hand laced in hers, and then she was off, sprinting, so he had to run to keep up. She looked over her shoulder at him, locking eyes. There was a passion burning in both of them, and she couldn't make it back to the upkept hotel they'd passed on the way there fast enough.

She slid inside the rusty doors, swiping a key from the front desk, before leading him up the stairs. And once they were in the room, she could wait no longer. He couldn't either.

She slammed against him, his mouth going back to hers in an open-mouthed kiss, and she gasped against him as he rolled his hips. Percy pulled her shirt over her head, his quickly following, before leading her back to him.

Every inch of her burned, but this time, it was a good thing. It was a reminder that she was no longer alone, and she never had to be again. Being permanent is hard, and it always will be, but with him by her side, in front of her, under her, she would be okay because he was permanent too, and their love was permanent.

Annabeth isn't sure when she fell in love. It had been quick, hitting her and taking her breath away. He taught her that just because there is the bad doesn't mean there isn't any good.

He taught her so much, and she loved him so, so much for it.

They were infinite— until the end of time.

Annabeth lazily drew patterns onto Percy's bare stomach, looking out onto the clear water in front of her from where they swayed on a swing, the wind ruffling their hair.

They were currently lounging in Spain along one of the clearest beaches they'd seen. They found a house that was relatively still put together after all this time, so they chose to stay there for a while, just swinging on the balcony without a care in the world.

"You asleep yet?"

Annabeth laid her head back to look at him, a lethargic smile on her face. She stretched, feeling the ache in her muscles, before answering. "Not quite yet."

Percy kissed her forehead before leaning back against the groaning wooden swing. His hand was resting against the dip in her hip, making her feel secure. "Where do you want to go next?"

"Hm." She looked around the water, imagining an endless ocean off into the distance. "What are the options?"

"Anywhere you want to go, just say it and you've got it."

"I've always wanted to visit Bora Bora. Humans used to make such a fuss over it."

"Humans?" he asked, tickling her side with two fingers. "What does that make you?"

"Immortal," she replied flatly, turning onto her stomach to rest her chin on his chest and look up to him. "Eternal, everlasting, undying. Pick your poison."

"Immortal works fine." Percy's eyes shimmered, matching the glimmer of the ocean in front of them. "Is that where you want to go? Bora Bora?"

"Assuming it hasn't been completely submerged underwater."

"Consider it done."

Annabeth traced random letters onto his skin, completely content. They sat in silence, something they did a lot these days, because there wasn't much to talk about anymore. They knew each other's stories already, and nothing new ever happened. There was never anything to say.

Still, she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to know what he was thinking. If he was anything like her, he never stopped thinking. She just wanted to hear his voice, even if what he spoke was mindless.

"What's going on inside that head of yours?" she asked, tapping lightly on his forehead.

He grabbed her fingers, kissing them individually, before dropping them to his chest and holding them there. "Nothing, really. Just wondering what time I would go back to if I could."

Annabeth perked up, curious. "Did you decide on anything?"

"It's a difficult decision, but I think it would be before I knew that I couldn't die. Around the time I was only eighteen-years-old."

"Why then?"

"Everything was so simple. No worrying about living forever or watching my girlfriend die. I still had my mom and little sister."

"I wish I could've met your mom," Annabeth said quietly. "Do you think she would've liked me?"

"I find it impossible that she wouldn't have." Percy gave her a sweet, nostalgic smile. "And Estelle— she would've been all over you. She tended to get clingy with my friends."

"If she's anything like you, I wouldn't have minded," she said, laughing.

Percy smirked. "What about you? Where would you go?"

Annabeth didn't answer for a few minutes, unsure of her answer. She wouldn't want to go back to before she knew because those days were nothing but a mess of confusion and frustration. She always knew something was different with her than with others, and she wouldn't want to put herself through that again.

The only place she could think to go was back to the 1790s when she still had Luke. It was awful because she knew how it would end now, but it would be nice to see him one more time. To get a real chance to say goodbye.

"It would be to the French Revolution," she answered, breaking the silence. "I couldn't go back to before the whole immortality thing because I never had anyone from the start. It would be too much. I would want to see Luke though. Get a moment with him when everything was still right in the world."

"That's a good choice." Percy's thumb went to rub the smooth skin of her cheek, and when she looked at him again, he had pure love in his eyes. "For the record though, I wouldn't go back. Not if it meant I couldn't have you."

"Me either." And it's true. She wouldn't ever want to go back to a time without Percy. Ever since that night on the hill in Alaska, she had been so much happier than she ever was. She couldn't bear to give that up. Not even for Luke. "I love you," she said, because it was the only thing she could think to say in a time like this.

"I love you too." Percy brought her face to his, giving her a slow kiss that drowned out everything around them. In moments like these, everything was perfect. That's why she could never leave him.

That night, Percy and Annabeth packed the few things they kept with them, planning to leave the next day. Until the time came to leave, they sat together in silence, enjoying the company. They ate what food they managed to collect, and then fell asleep in each other's arms, safe and protected.

Annabeth was jerked awake at some point during the night. Her heart was already racing in her chest, but when she looked around, Percy was still fast asleep. The room was dark, the moonlight flooding through the windows being the only source of light. There was nothing else in the room besides them, so she slowly lowered herself back to Percy's arms, beginning to think she imagined it.

Just as she was drifting off, it happened again.

She pulled herself upright, shaking Percy to wake up, before listening to the indistinct chatter coming from somewhere inside the room. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, still too foggy with sleep, but luckily Percy could, reaching for his backpack and pulling something out.

Percy silently twisted a few knobs on the radio, Annabeth still lagging behind, and then the chatter turned to words.

"Is that…?" Annabeth scratched her head, looking over his shoulder.

"It's the radio signals I told you about," he finished hushed, trying to catch the words.

The radio turned to static for a few agonizing seconds, before it turned back to someone's voice. "If there's anyone out there— Swiss Alps. People like us— Make your way to the Alps." It shut off immediately after, and she almost thought she imagined it.

Percy was still as a rock, staring at the radio. She grabbed it from him, just like the night in Alaska, and she turned it in her fingers. "Those are the messages you heard?"

"Yeah, but— I haven't heard those since maybe a year after the nuclear war. I didn't think it was real."

"It sounded real," she said, a hand resting on his back. "Should we go?"

"I don't know." Percy bit his lower lip in worry. "What if it's not real, or if they're dangerous?"

"We thought the same thing at first." Annabeth's tongue ran over the inside of her cheek. She picked at her lips with her fingers. "If there are other people like us, maybe they can answer the questions we can't."

He looked at her, and she could see the slight panic in his eyes. He thought he was going insane when he heard those, but to know now that he was right all along? That there might be other people like them? It was a relief, but it was worrying. Where had they been from the start?

But still. If there's someone out there, she wants to know.

"You want to go?" he asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

"Don't you want to know if it's real? It's just us, and that's okay, but maybe it doesn't have to be just us." Annabeth got onto her knees to reach his cheek and give him a kiss. "Let's go. I think we'll regret it if we don't."

She saw the gears turning in his head, and she gave him another kiss. Percy sighed, and she knew he gave in.

Annabeth understood where the hesitancy was coming from. It was just them, and it has been for a long time. Changing that was terrifying, but she would never leave him, even if more people were with them.

"No Bora Bora?" he asked, a slight tinge of humor in his voice.

"Bora Bora can wait," she answered, hugging him and breathing against his neck. "We've still got all the time we could ever need."

That next morning, instead of heading South, they turned North. Annabeth knew Switzerland wasn't nearly as far as their original destination, but knowing what they did now, it felt like they were travelling to the opposite side of the planet.

It wasn't an easy journey either. For the past few years, they'd been travelling around the borders of Europe and Asia, and it had been on boat, but Switzerland was landlocked, and they had no choice but to travel on foot.

The sun blazed down on them as they walked. It was a seemingly never-ending journey. Day after day, they forced one foot in front of the other, and it was like she was back to where she first started, wandering the world alone.

She had too much time to think. In the month it took to get to the Swiss Alps, it was too silent for her liking, and it gave her time to second guess her decision. Percy held her hand and hugged and kissed her, but they stayed silent most of the time, and for some reason, she felt like the world was losing its touch once again.

Percy seemed to notice her change in moods, pulling her aside somewhere in France and sitting her down, giving her some water and snacks.

"Are you okay?"

She shrugged, sipping the bottle of water. It was warm and uncomfortable to swallow.

"You seem different," he noted.

She shrugged again. "It's just— remember when we first met? I said I felt like I was trapped and couldn't really see the world?"

Percy's brows furrowed in worry. "I remember. Do you feel trapped with me?"

"Not trapped with you," she affirmed. "It's not you. It's the world."

"What do you mean?"

"We're about to find out if there's really anyone else here. If there is, then that's good, but what if there isn't? What if we show up and it's empty? We don't know if we're alone now, but we will soon. If we are alone, it's like— what type of world would do that? The world I've been looking at for years can't be the one to do this to us." She sighed. "I'm not sure I'm ready to find out the truth."

"Then we don't have to," he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing. "We don't have to find out right now. We can wait."

"But we'll always wonder if maybe there was an opportunity and we missed it." Her lip twitched slightly. "We have to do this."

So they did.

They continued on, supporting each other through it all. They went slow, taking as much time as they needed. They took breaks whenever they felt like it, even taking a few detours. Eventually though, sooner than she was ready for, they reached the country and they reached the Alps.

They stood on a big, verdant hill, hand in hand and looking into the valley beneath them. Behind the hill could lay people like them, or it could be nothing except false hope and dreams.

She wasn't ready to find out.

"Ready?" Percy asked, rubbing his thumb over the outside of her hand.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Ready."

Together, they walked down into the valley, looking at the green grass that looked untouched by a nuclear war. There wasn't anything as far as she could tell. It was completely silent, not even any animals roaming the fertile ground, but then—

There was a single cabin standing in the middle of the fields, far off to their left.

Annabeth stopped in her path, pointing Percy in that direction. And then they were off, practically running in the direction of the cabin that was too put together to have been built millions of years ago, and before they knew it, they were standing in front of the door, looking up at the intimidating building that could have all the answers.

Annabeth doesn't know how long they stood like that, staring up unsure of what else they could do, until the door was swinging open and two people were staring at them.

Annabeth blinked, frozen at the sight of the girl with tan skin and choppy hair and the short boy in oil-stained overalls and curly hair.

No one made the first move, and Percy's strong arm was back around her in a protective manner, but then the girl stepped towards them with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey! You must be people like us," she said casually, and then she was trotting towards them, the other boy on her heels. "I'm Piper, and this is Leo. We've kind of been around forever now, and I'm going to guess you have been too."

Annabeth's words got stuck in her throat, but Percy's didn't, so he spoke for the two of them, something she was grateful for.

"Seems like it," he said, a guarded but friendly smile on his face. "I'm Percy, and this is Annabeth."

Piper tilted her head, analyzing them, and Annabeth noticed her clean white shirt and jeans that looked new, and she yearned for some of her own. "Well, Percy and Annabeth, I'm sure there's a lot for us to go over. It's been a while since we've gotten anybody new around here. Come on in," she said, already leading them towards the small cabin that wasn't actually small at all once they got inside.

There were a few more people inside the cabin, all staring at the newcomers, and Annabeth couldn't believe that there were actually so many people sitting right in front of her. Piper motioned for them to sit on a couch, which they did reluctantly.

"So," Piper started, breaking the tense silence and glancing back and forth between them, a hint of humor on her face. "What brought you here?"

Percy bit his lip, clearly uncomfortable being so friendly with people they met two minutes prior. "A radio signal. It told us about the Swiss Alps."

"I told you we should've never stopped sending them out," Leo hissed, only to get elbowed by Piper in response.

"Anyways," Piper continued. "We've all been living for quite some time now. There's only about twenty of us, but a lot of them aren't here. They probably won't be back for another couple thousand years."

Annabeth finally found the ability to speak and asked, "What exactly is this place?"

"After everything kind of went to shit, I found Leo over there alive, and we just settled down and built this place. He's a mechanic, and he's been around since the 1600s, so he's pretty good with the radio stuff. He sent a few messages out, and a few more people showed up. We always assumed there were more like us out there."

"But this is just a place to stay?"

"Pretty much. Everywhere in the world is so run down, but here, we have food and water and we even got lucky enough with a doctor. As I'm sure you know, it's hard to live forever, but here, surrounded by other people going through the same thing, it just gets a little bit easier."

Annabeth's mind was going haywire, this all being a lot to take in. It felt like when she first met Percy, going too fast yet not fast enough. There wasn't enough being said, but that's because there was nothing to be said at all.

"You're welcome to stay here," another guy added from the back, and when Annabeth looked up, he was sitting in a wheelchair, and looked older than the rest of the group. "I'm Chiron. I've been around since caveman days."

"He's the leader of the camp," Piper added. "You're probably thinking you're hallucinating or something, right? It's what I thought when I met Leo."

"It's weird, I'll give you that," Percy said. "What do you guys do here?"

"We try to live life as normal as possible. We make this place bigger and try to find new people and help them. It's hard, knowing it's all we'll ever do, but it's better than being alone." She clapped her hands together excitedly. "It's nice to have new people. I was getting bored of spending forever with Leo."

"What did I do for you to hate me?" Leo asked, offended.

"You two must be exhausted," Piper said, ignoring Leo's whines. "Why don't you two come with me, and we can get you a place to stay and some new clothes?"

Annabeth looked to Percy for confirmation, and they nodded. Piper introduced them to the rest of the group as she led them away. Behind the cabin, there were small houses, and she has no idea how she hadn't seen them before. It was beautiful, and out of everything she'd seen on this planet, this won, hands down.

Piper led them into one of the houses, and inside was even better than the outside. It had stairs along the side, and the furniture looked expensive, and it was so well decorated.

"I take it you plan on staying together?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked between them with a teasing smile.

Percy nodded in answer, and then Piper was continuing on with the mini tour.

"So this is your place. There's no key because obviously, no one's going to walk in and steal anything. There are already clothes in the closet and the fridge is stocked with food. Make yourself comfortable. This is your home now."

Just as Piper was about to leave, Annabeth stopped her, calling out her name. "How is everything here? Everything was destroyed after the war."

Piper just gives her a knowing look. "We had plenty of time to learn how to build a new life, so we did." She held up a hand in a wave, already out the doors to give them space. "We can talk later. I'm excited to get to know you."

Once she was gone, Percy pulled her against him, kissing her deeply, his arms wrapped snug around her waist.

"You glad we came to check it out?" he mumbled against her lips.

"Oh, yeah," she laughed out. "I'm still trying to comprehend what just happened. One second we were alone, and now we have a place to live."

"Looks like we're together forever, you and me."

"I guess so," she said, leaning in for another kiss, both of them unable to stop the relieved grins, their teeth clashing. "But I already knew that."

Percy laughed, swooping her up in his arms and peppering kisses all over her face and neck. "I love you so much."

And so their journey was finally over. She saw the beauty in the world, and she saw the ugly, but the ugly doesn't come without beauty. She knew that now.

"I love you too."

10,002,465,739

After so many years, Annabeth no longer sees the world with wide eyes. She sees the flaws, the ugly. She knows the beauty is there, but it's gone dull long ago.

Spending almost ten billion years at the camp was difficult. She made friends that she loves more than anything, but it was excruciating, counting the years until an end that might never come. She tried to waste time travelling the world again, and Percy stayed with her. He always did.

Annabeth always hoped that the end would come eventually. She loved these people more than she thought possible, but it was just so hard, so when one day it starts to get hotter and hotter, the only thing she can think to do is smile.

Spending eternity with the person she loves is the best way it could've ended, but she was ready. They all were.

When the sun begins to swell, reaching the end of its life, it takes everything with it. Her last view is of the night sky, a mix of Andromeda and the Milky Way, and with Percy's arms wrapped lovingly around her.

She isn't scared in the slightest. Death loses its touch after so long. A smile graced her face, but years spent cursing the world, and she supposes she has something to thank it for.

She thinks of the people she'll finally get to see again. She'll see her parents again, their skin smooth and healthy, and she'll get to hold Malcolm again, this time with him alive and smiling in her arms. She'll get to see Luke again with his charming personality and wide grin. She'll see Silena and Charles and get to take them shopping again.

All those years cursing permanency, and she realizes that she wasn't permanent. Not really. Nothing was permanent, because if time is infinite, there are infinite possibilities for time to stop, and it finally has.

And so the end of Annabeth's life comes with the end of existence itself.

Through all of her pain and suffering, she found her friends and family, and she got to stay with them until the end of time. What more could she have asked for?

because in my mind, annabeth will live forever! happy birthday annabeth!

thank you to mia for helping me out with the title. you are the best, thank you.

also having the guillotine come down on my head was pretty terrifying back then lmao it happened to me a long time ago, so excuse inaccurate details. and living through the plague was no fun either :( if you're wondering "why is an immortal writing fanfiction," i ask you this. "Why not?"

maybe review! thanks for reading! love u and love hearing from you!