Chapter 26: Fall
Summary: The fall, and what came after. MoA spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. (And if I did, I wouldn't sentence them to such a terrible fate. Sniffle.) Lyrics are from 'All We Know' by Paramore.
cause all we know is falling, it falls.
remember, cause i know that we won't forget at all.
How long have they been falling? How long has it been since they saw their last glimpse of sunlight?
Neither of them are sure. Time has ceased to mean anything. Darkness has consumed their past, present, and future. All they know now is the rush of wind, the scent of ancient evils, and the terror that threatens to overtake their senses.
They try to speak to each other, but the cold, swiftly moving air effectively traps their words in their throats, and the few words they manage to utter get lost in the wind. They communicate primarily through squeezing each other's hands, a gesture that reassures the other that no, you are not alone.
Despite the foreboding that envelops him, Percy doesn't regret his decision. There was no way he would let Annabeth go down alone, not after all that they had been through, not after everything they had overcome. Whatever happened, they would face it together. And that was that.
He knows that this fall cannot last forever, and yet he is terrified of whatever awaits them at the end. There are reasons why not even the gods dare to venture to this hellish prison, and he is not looking forward to discovering what they are. He never got a chance to ask Nico what he had seen in Tartarus, but judging from his hollow eyes and the disquieting emptiness that seemed to emanate from his every pore, it hadn't been anything good.
He tries not to think about it, but part of him wonders what he will lose down here. He cannot shake the feeling that if he is able to survive this ordeal, the Percy that emerges from Tartarus won't be the same Percy who fell into it. He worries that a piece of him will go missing, that the darkness will spread in his mind like a cancer, eliminating his ability to do or think or see or feel. He doesn't want that. He doesn't want to become merely a shell of his former self.
But there is more at stake than his sanity. The fate of the world, for one thing. And the fate of the girl who is holding onto his hand, squeezing it as tightly as possible. There are things Percy cannot afford to lose, and Annabeth is one of them. But there are many ways he can, especially while they are down here, and the thought of that chills him to his core.
He copes the only way he knows how - by thinking of the good things. The good memories, when everything was so much better and brighter and safer and warmer. Like a movie reel, they form a stream of images in his mind that consists of underwater kisses and cupcakes and chariot races and fireworks and spontaneous hugs, of teasing and nicknames and laughing and picnics in Central Park. He locks these golden thoughts in his mind, in a place where Gaea can never reach them. Whatever happens, he figures, Annabeth will never truly be lost. A part of her will be immortalized inside him until the day he breathes his last breath. He swears not to forget. He will never forget. He will remember, no matter what it takes.
Something shifts in the air, and somehow they know they are nearing the end. He squeezes her hand, and they brace for impact.
And then: nothing.
A/N: I know what you're thinking: she makes us wait months for an update, and when it finally comes it's sad and depressing and not fluffy at all. What gives?
Yeah, I know I suck with the whole timely updates thing. My creative juices only seem to flow at the most inconvenient times - like when I'm up at 4 am on a Sunday night frantically trying to finish a project that I should have started weeks ago. (It's happened.)
As always, my profuse apologies. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, despite the all the sadness. (Still not over the Tartarus thing. I'll never be over it. Ever.)
Thanks for reading!
-Alexa
PS: I've posted a new fic called Diversionary Tactics, starring teensecretagent!Percy and teensecretagent!Annabeth. It involves a mission, a gym full of high schoolers, a prom, henchmen, a mutation-causing toxin, and lots of sexual tension. Check it out if you're interested. ;)