A/N: Newish or really refurbished chapter uno of this story.

Percy's POV

"NO!" I screamed. This couldn't be happening. I was supposed to protect her, not the other way around. Annabeth can't die!

I ran forward and grabbed her body and cried as I held Annabeth's lifeless body in my arms. She sacrificed herself to save the Olympians and the demigods from the monsters that keep coming back. She sealed the doors of death with her life.

I remember back in Tartarus, we were running from the monsters, trying to get out of that gods-forsaken pit, and I tried to push her forward to stay back and distract them so that she could get away, but she pulled me to her.

XxFLASHBACKxX

We were being overrun by the monster. They just kept pouring out from crevices and popping up seemingly out of nowhere. Normally, when we killed a monster, its essence would return to Tartarus, but since we were already there they had nowhere else to go.I knew that we wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer. The fire water gave us only limited amounts of energy. My only thought was getting Annabeth out of here alive. I didn't care what I had to do to accomplish that.

I turned my head to face her as we ran. "You keep going, I am going to stay back and distract them. Just keep going until you find the doors of death!"

She looked at me like I was insane. "Are you crazy! I'm not leaving you alone when it is incredibly likely that you could be killed!"

"I've defied the odds before, why not try again?"

"But you were never here, in this endless pit, where not even the Fates are in charge. They might not say that it's your time yet, but the pit could decide for them."

"I don't care, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," I argued.

"Then stop trying to play the hero! Because I have no intention of letting anything happen to you either," she retorted. "I promise that no matter what, you are not going to be the stupid hero and give up your life for me!"

XxEND-FLASHBACKxX

An oath to keep with a final breath I thought bitterly. Once again, a prophecy screwed me over. Why am I even surprised anymore, the Fates have always had it out for me. I guess they finally decided to settle their score. But why did it have to be with Annabeth's life? I would have rather given my life than she give hers!

Tears were still streaming down my face as I stood up from Annabeth's cold side. I turned to look at the wide-eyed Olympians and demigods. Most had tears in their eyes too. Looking up at Zeus, I attempted to keep my expression as stoic as I could, even though unimaginable pain was coursing through my body.

"Where's Gaea?" My voice was as dead as I felt in that moment.

Zeus and the other gods looked at me worriedly. It was my father that answered me. "She's gone, at least for another millennia or so. We are about to head back to Olympus. Are you ready?"

I nod my head in silence.

With a slight hesitation my father placed his hand on my shoulder and we, along with everyone else, teleported back to New York.

The rest of the night passed by in a blur. There were the awards where I declined godhood for a second time, resulting in an angry Zeus. Then the celebration began, as gods and demigods alike started to rejoice in our victory in the Second Giant war. But about halfway through the party I just couldn't take it anymore. Everyone looked so happy. The couples were wrapped around each other, glad that the other survived. It sent a pang through my heart. I had hoped to be one of them. To have Annabeth by my side. To have spent the rest of our lives together, free from all the gods, monsters, and quest; but it never happens that way. We never got our happy ending.

I took a last look at all the people on Olympus before heading to the elevator. There was only one person on this planet that could even begin to comfort me at a time like this. My mom, Sally Jackson-Blofis. I needed to be held in the comfort of her familiar arms, with her telling me that everything would be okay. And even though I knew the truth, I just had to believe her, she sounded too confident not to.

I walked all the way to the apartment. The cool air cleared tears that I didn't even now were falling. The walk also served another purpose, I am a bit calmer now than I was when I left Olympus.

Once I reached my mom's apartment, I take a couple of deep breaths, preparing myself for my mom's reaction to my first appearance in almost a year. KNOCK, KNOCK. KNOCK, the sound echoes throughout the building as my fist connects with the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses!" the sound of my mother's brings a brief smile to my face before it disappears when I remember the reason behind my visit. The door swings open, and my mother is in the doorway in a robe, rubbing her eyes, trying to rid the sleep from them.

"Now what do you thin –" she stops mid sentence when she looks up and realizes that it was me at the door. I was about to talk when I was pulled into a tight hug. A sad smile stretches my lips, but doesn't meet my eyes.

"Hey mom, I've missed you." Understatement of the year, and I return the hug, but a bit gentler.

"Where have you been? You've been gone for months! Do you have any idea how hard it was on people when you disappeared, especially Annabeth!" She screamed me with tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall over the edge.

I cringed when her name was spoken. Mom noticed and frowned.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" my mom spoke rapidly.

I frowned this was going to be a hard conversation on both sides; I guided her inside and sat down on the couch, and she followed in suit. A blank expression takes shadows across my face once more.

"She didn't make it," My voice cracked, showing emotion through my stoicness. "She sacrificed herself to close the Doors of Death." Tears started streaming down her face.

"Oh no. I am so sorry honey." She looked up at me and worry takes over her face, through her tears, because of my expression or really lack-thereof. I shook my head and laid it on her shoulder as the traitor tears started falling.

"Oh honey, everything is going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem that way now, but eventually it will. Don't worry you can cry; you don't have to be the leader, especially not here. It's okay to cry for the loss of Anna – her."

The tears just kept coming for what seemed like forever. The pain just wouldn't go away; even though I wasn't physically injured, it sure felt like it. It felt as if someone was shoving a rusty dagger into my heart and was twisting it. And also, I was exhausted. After everything that had happened today, the mental and physical exhaustion was finally catching up with me. My eyes started to droop, and the last thing I heard was my mother's soothing voice before I succumbed to the darkness that was consuming me.

TIME SKIP – ONE YEAR

Sally's Pov

My son has been living with Paul and I for this last year, and we understood why. The memories that the camp held of Annabeth were too much for him to handle. I as a mother was of course thrilled that my son was staying with me, but the situation that brought him home was too traumatic to rejoice about.

Percy has become a shell of his former self. He acts as if his body has been pre-programmed with actions, like there was no light on inside but he was still going through the motions. His days have become routine: he wakes up, eats, goes to his room until lunch, eats, leaves to the park, comes home to eat dinner, then goes into his room once more. I fear that New York in general has way too many reminders of Annabeth and all the other things that he has lost in these past two wars for him to ever heal properly. He needs a change of scenery.

I have a stepbrother who lives in Washington with his daughter who is about Percy's age. When I talked to Charlie about Percy he agreed that a change of scenery would probably be very beneficial. He also offered to take him in and let Percy finish out his senior year of high school in Forks. Charlie said that his daughter went through the loss of a significant other a little while ago as well and that maybe she could help him cope.

There were only a few problems to this plan. Number one would be getting Percy to actually agree to this change, but I have a feeling that I could convince him to leave New York and all of its bad memories. Second is that Charlie had no idea about the gods, monster, and all the things that tie into that. Percy does know how to protect himself and others though, so that one's not really a major problem either. I will talk to him and see what he has to say about this. Lets just hope that he can see reason in this situation, and doesn't try to hold on to something that is not there.