Author's notes: Just a little idea I've been playing with for a couple of weeks and finally got around to finishing. I've always wondered how Annabeth dealt with holding up the sky by herself in Titan's Curse and decided that if Annabeth would come to Percy in The Last Olympian, Percy would most definitely had made an appearance in that scene. I'm not completely satisfied with this piece, but I've been ripping it apart and piecing it back together for the last couple of weeks and I needed to get it off my computer before I destroy it altogether. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Figment

Death was coming. Annabeth was certain of it.

She could feel it in every molecule of her aching body, from her sweaty, matted hair to her skinned knee sinking into the ground and to the very fingertips supporting the overwhelming weight of the sky.

She'd been too arrogant to believe she could bear this burden, too willing to believe in Luke and his lies, and now, she would die because of it.

It was burning her up. It took all the power and strength she had, and everything she didn't, just to keep herself from being crushed as each agonizing minute dragged on. Annabeth had never felt pain that made her limbs tremble with furious effort and her very bones strain from the unbearable pressure. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think…she could barely exist without the pain.

But nothing hurt quite as much as the betrayal that clawed at her heart and made hot, piercing tears leak from her eyes. It was the betrayal that was truly killing her. If Luke – her Luke, who had looked after her and treated her like a goddess and said he loved her – could do this to her without a look back, there was nothing left to live for. Why would she want to keep living in a world where love and promises meant nothing?

How could he? How could he?

Annabeth sobbed as her shoulders wobbled and the sky sank down on her further. Everyone thought she was dead anyway. Why should she try and fight the inevitable? She couldn't do this, she was going to be crushed and she didn't care, because then she wouldn't have to feel to anymore –

"Don't you give up on me now, Wise Girl."

A ragged gasp drug itself from Annabeth's chest, and she wrenched her eyes open, hardly daring to believe that he could really be here…

Her vision as blurry, and it took a few moments for the black and orange blob in front of her to come into focus.

"P – P – Percy?"

He smiled at her, his sea green eyes comforting in the gloom. His black hair was a mess, as it usually was, and he was wearing his orange t-shirt from camp instead of the heavy coat and hat she'd seen him in last. Had the Manticore captured him too?

"What…what are you doing here?" she asked slowly, each word squeezed out of her lungs with a throbbing wheeze.

"You need me," he said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't be here?"

"They'll kill you…if they find you," she said, her fingers slipping on the sky. She could feel her life draining away, and she couldn't take much more of this. Had Percy arrived just in time to see her die?

"Stop thinking like that," Percy snapped, his eyebrows furrowing the way they did when he was worried. "You can do this."

"I can't!" she sobbed, the weight sinking on her again, making her back buckle and bend. "It's just too much!"

"I bet I could hold it up, no problem," he replied casually, like he hadn't heard her cries. "That's the problem with you Athena kids. Always willing to throw in the towel when you can't think your way out of things."

For the first time since she'd woken up in this place, Annabeth felt an emotion stirring besides hurt and despair – fury. Who did that stupid Percy Jackson think he was, talking to her like that when she was, quite literally, completing a herculean effort? The jerk never knew when to quit pushing her, and holding up the sky wasn't a contest, for Zeus's sake…

"Listen here, Jackson," she snarled, thrusting her hands upwards. For a moment, the sky felt infinitesimally lighter and the pain receded a bit. "I haven't survived this long to be lectured by you, of all people, about giving up. You would've been as flat as a pancake by now, and you know it."

"I know. I was just making sure you remembered that too."

Annabeth blinked, surprised, and Percy smiled gently at her. Her momentary strength failed her, and the sky became heavier than ever before. She groaned in pain.

"You – you are the worst motivational figment of my imagination ever," she said for that was surely what this Percy had to be. There was no way he'd be this clearheaded and calm if he was actually present.

"You'd probably be better at it, just like everything else."

"You don't have to compliment me just – just because I'm going to die."

Percy's eyes narrowed, and a fierce expression crossed his face. He moved closer to her and, even through her sweat and tears, she could clearly read the determination in his eyes.

"You're not going to die, Annabeth. You just have to hold on. Help is on the way."

"It's just too heavy!"

She hated how young and weak that made her sound. But that was simply a matter of fact: the sky was too heavy for her. No one could bear this burden alone, let alone a thirteen-year-old daughter of Athena.

"Annabeth," he said, placing his hands on her cheeks. For a figment of her imagination, he sure felt real enough in that moment. "If anyone can do this, it's you. You're the strongest and bravest girl I've ever met, and I believe in you. You have to hold on."

She could feel the sky slipping from her hands, and she felt one of her bones crack as the pressure increased. Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut as another sob overcame her, and she felt his hands slide away from her face. He didn't understand. All this weight and pain was too much for one person to bear, and she was too small, too insignificant to be that person.

"Why? What's there to hold on for?" she asked, forcing the words out from her burning chest. "I don't have anyone."

Percy said nothing, and a sudden, cold thought fluttered through Annabeth's brain, and she forced her eyes back open. The ache in her heart doubled. Even through blurred vision, there was no mistaking the sight before her: Percy was gone.

"I'm right here," he said before her despair could overwhelm her. It took a massive effort for her to turn her head just enough to see him again. He was kneeling by her side, reaching up – she realized in horror – to touch the sky. "You've always got me."

She tried to shout out a warning, but not even a horrified squeak came out. He grimaced as the weight settled on him, causing his knees to shake from the pressure.

"I – I see you weren't kidding about this, Wise Girl."

She couldn't help but stare at him in shock. Why would he willingly take on the burden of the sky? Didn't he see what it was doing to her? Why would he want to punish himself like that?

It took her a long time to build up the strength to talk again. Each time she did, the sky would become just a little heavier, forcing the air out of her lungs in an excruciating rush. Finally, she managed to gasp, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Helping me…"

"You think I wouldn't? You're my friend, Annabeth," Percy looked at her in amusement. "You know that if I wasn't some figment of your imagination, I'd be right here beside you anyway. Just like you know the real Percy Jackson is on his way to save you right now, and you can't let a little something like the sky stop you from seeing him again."

He was right, of course. Percy usually was right, not matter how much she hated to admit it. No one else would've done this for her. No one, not her siblings, her parents, or Luke, would've tried to share this burden or jump in the ocean after her or given her the chance to spread her wings...except him.

"You have to hold on, Annabeth. You can't give up. I wouldn't."

No, he wouldn't. He was too stubborn to quit, even when the odds were against him. He was here with her now, when everyone else had abandoned her, and when she was with him, she was strong enough to handle anything the gods and the rest of the world threw at her. Maybe she couldn't hold up the sky alone, but if they did it together…

"Stay with me?" she asked quietly, meeting his determined green gaze.

"I won't leave you," he replied, moving one of his hands so it brushed against her fingers. "I'll be with you, no matter what happens. Understand?"

She nodded slowly, feeling hope flood through her weary body. The ache in her chest receded almost completely, causing her strength to come back to her little-by-little. It wasn't enough to totally ease the pain, but it would keep her alive long enough for help to come.

She could survive, so long as Percy was by her side.

Annabeth was certain of it.

Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.