Hi?

I know, I know... I have a lot of explaining to do.

1) I hit a MAJOR roadblock on Connections. I wish it was done by now, but it's not. I'm sorry.

2) The Forest of the Dead and The Rants of the Mighty Athena are still ongoing. Forest will probably be updated first, as I haven't organized the prompts for Rants yet.

3) I have SO MANY one-shots I want and need to post, but a lot of them are only half-finished, so that'll take a while...

4) School started up and is currently trying to kill me.

And that's where I am with all that.

So, in honor of THE HOUSE OF FREAKING HADES being released tomorrow and the Percabeth ship week, I decided to take five hours and write you guys a one-shot! So enjoy this 3,000 word beauty that I wrote while watching numerous movies and eating coconut pudding!

WARNING: TARTARUS, CHARACTER DEATH, ANGST AND MENTIONS OF PTSD. I RECOMMEND KEEPING CHOCOLATE AND TISSUES NEARBY AS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus. The fabulous Rick Riordan does.

Percy was scared.

He had been scared before, been frightened, been terrified, but nothing like this. Nothing like this overwhelming panic that rose through his stomach and to the top of his throat and threatened to burst out in screams.

It wasn't the fear of falling; it was the fear of what lay at the bottom.

Annabeth's arms were wrapped around his chest, her hands clawing at the fabric of his camp shirt. She had her face pressed into his shoulder and her hair blew up around his face. It smelled like strawberries and Percy found himself unconsciously breathing it in as he held her tighter.

The wind rushed by their ears and sucked the breath from their lungs. Annabeth whispered something into Percy's shirt and clenched her fists around him. He squeezed her reassuringly.

They were together. And they would stay that way.

The ground was nearing, not that Percy could see it. But he could sense it, like gravity had grabbed them in it's talons and was pulling them downward at a greater speed than they had already been traveling at.

Their grip tightened on each other and Percy instinctively closed his eyes and braced himself for impact.

"Percy?" Annabeth said, so close to his ear it should've been like a shout, but instead came out as a whisper.

He opened his eyes a crack to reassure her, but at that moment, the ground came up to meet them, there was a crack, a flash of white and then nothing.

"Percy?"

Falling...

"Percy, wake up."

Falling... falling... they were falling...

"Wake up."

Darkness...

"Percy!"

The ground... falling... Tartarus...

"Percy!"

Cold...

So cold...

Falling...

Falling...

Cold...

Falling...

"Percy, wake up."

His eyes peeled themselves open and sight returned, though it was fuzzy.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth was sitting over him, a cut on her cheek. Her hair was all in her face and she winced, clearly still favoring her bad ankle.

Percy tried to sit up and almost blacked out again. He tried to say her name but it came out as a groan.

"Yup," Annabeth said. "Definitely concussed." She grabbed him as he fell backwards. "How many finger am I holding up?"

Percy didn't think thirteen would be a suitable estimate, so he guessed. "...seven?"

Annabeth sighed. "You should rest for a while."

"No, we have to go," Percy muttered and somehow struggled to his feet. He felt the world tip and Annabeth grab him, then cry out as she put weight onto her bad foot. He spun around and grabbed her just as her knees buckled, which wasn't helpful, because his vision suddenly blanked and he found himself on the ground again, with his head throbbing heavily.

"Are you okay?" he managed.

Annabeth let out a shaky laugh and nodded. "You surprised me. If you think you can walk..." She stood tentatively and held out a hand. Percy took it and returned to his feet again.

"Let's go."

"Percy?"

It was so dark...

"Percy, come on, man..."

So cold...

"Percy, wake up."

And he was scared.

"Percy..."

The voices faded.

Annabeth screams his name, but he's too far away.

Percy whirled around, slashing at a monster in the darkness. There are too many of them, coming too quickly, too many to count or name or even distinguish from shadow. Riptide twirls in his hands, cutting and stabbing and slashing, a strange mixture of Greek and Roman techniques, most he had picked up from sparring with Jason.

Annabeth had fallen, a monster baring down on her, grinning, lifting it's weapon to strike. She held up her knife in a futile attempt to protect herself and Percy somehow knew that it wasn't going to work...

And then Riptide had left his hand and was flying through the air...

Annabeth was cowering underneath...

The monster was looking up in shocked surprise as Percy's blade cut through it's skin and turned it to a dark dust...

And Percy turned to retrieve it just in time for a drachnae to sink it's claws into his chest.

As Annabeth screamed his name, as his world went completely fuzzy and grey and he felt the ground welcoming him, he remembered the cold.

"Percy?"

Falling... dying... dying...

"Percy, snap out of it!"

Blonde and grey and orange...

"Jackson, so help me..."

Falling...

Annabeth was crying and he didn't know why.

"What's wrong?" His voice sounded dull and unused and there was a suspicious ache in his chest. He had survived that attack, but he wasn't exactly a happy camper.

Annabeth was sitting at the entrance of the cave they had found to spend the night in. She had been taking the first watch and now she was curled up by their small fire, pressing her hands against her face and trying to wipe the tears streaking down her face and mixing in with the cuts and bruises already littering it.

"I'm fine," she choked, before a sob escaped her chest, wracking her body as she began coughing. Huge, horrible coughs.

Percy was immediately at her side, holding her as she shook in his arms, trying to get air, her windpipe rattling.

"Annabeth, are you okay? Are you alright? Come on, breathe!"

She finally got enough breath back to manage his name.

"What's the matter?"

"I-" Her voice caught. "I'm scared. I'm scared we'll never see the sun again, our friends again. I'm scared we'll never see home. I'm scared that you're going to leave me. I'm scared that you'll... that you'll-"

She didn't finish and didn't need to. Percy clutched her into himself, ignoring the pain radiating across his chest and tried to comfort her as she began sobbing again. He felt his throat clench as he held her as tightly and gently as he could.

If you said that he had cried quietly into her hair, he wouldn't have denied it.

Because he was crying for all the right reasons. The same reasons.

"Percy?"

Falling...

"Please... wake up..."

Annabeth...

The Doors were ahead of them.

Percy was staggering, barely aware of what he was doing, just continuing walking. Annabeth had collapsed against him and he was doing his best to keep her up while moving forwards at the same time. They were dirty, exhausted and barely had an inch of skin that wasn't marked up and bruised and cut and bleeding and, gods, it hurt.

Tendrils of mist licked their ankles and tongues of fire rose up like snakes. The monsters didn't dare to venture this far towards the doors, but Percy found himself slashing at shadows with Riptide, knees buckling under the motion.

Annabeth groaned at his side and tried to raise her head. Her hair was dark with blood and it was snaking it's way down her face. She had a sprained wrist and a long, deep cut across her abdomen. A stab wound on her lower thigh had turned a ugly shade of green and was festering, most likely poisoned. Her bubble-wrap cast had long since disappeared and her ankle was discolored and swollen. Her breath rattled in her chest from some mysterious illness. Her ribs showed through her shirt and she was much too light, much too thin, circles underneath her eyes too dark for Percy's liking.

He knew he wasn't looking much better. He was still concussed from the fall, though he now wasn't seeing more than two Annabeth's at a time, and numerous head wounds had been added to that, from being thrown against rocks and tripping in exhaustion. Dried blood was crusted to his cheek and down his face and neck and clinging to his lips. His left shoulder had been dislocated twice and there was a nasty cut on his sword arm that was still bleeding freshly. Claw marks were slashed across his chest and made it painful to breath, though that might've been a broken rib or two. He had a long cut running down his leg from his knee to his ankle and every step he took was basically agony, with his and Annabeth's combined weight.

He was exhausted and hungry and horribly, horribly thirsty. He didn't feel like a hero. He didn't feel like he could control a raindrop. He just wanted to lie down next to Annabeth and give up, but they were so close... so close... oh gods, it was so far away.

Breathe. Take a step. Breathe. You're almost there.

He kept taking steps and breathing and making sure Annabeth was still in his arms, because honestly, he wasn't really sure of anything anymore.

Somehow, he got within looking distance of the Doors. He could see people running towards them, a giant ship, someone flying.

He broke into a stumbling run. Annabeth cried out from his side.

"We're almost there, Wise Girl," he said breathlessly. "Almost... there..."

And then they were outside and immediately he felt lighter and not so cold, but he was so tired and he didn't know where he was... someone had taken Annabeth from his arms and he fell into someone else's.

"Percy, hold on..." The someone's voice was very familiar and very far away. "Hold on..."

Percy looked up into Jason's face. The son of Jupiter looked worried and he clutched Percy tightly, cutting off breath he couldn't afford to lose. Percy didn't like seeing him worried. He wanted to know why.

"Jason..." Percy tried to grin, but he was pretty sure he failed. "It'll be okay..."

And then his legs completely gave out and Jason was shouting and hands were swarming him and his brain decided that he should give up and just let go for a while... just rest... sleep was a good thing... wasn't it?

Someone was holding him and he could see a couple of people across from them, tending to Annabeth, who was motionless...

He moaned her name and his eyes slid shut without him telling them to.

"Percy?"

Falling...

"NO!" He screamed, a cry that tore through his chest and ripped out of his throat and burst through his lips.

Jason had grabbed his arms and was holding him back. The son of Jupiter's grasp was shaking, but he held firm, though with Percy's current state, he wasn't really strong enough to fight back too hard.

There was a flash of blonde, his name on her lips.

"DON'T, PLEASE!"

"It'll be okay," Jason told him, repeating the words Percy had said to him only a short time before, but his voice cracked.

Percy tried lashing out at Jason, hoping to loosen his grip, but he merely tightened his arms around Percy's chest.

"STOP!" Percy's throat was going raw. "NO! TAKE ME! LET ME GO INSTEAD!"

A glimpse of grey, a faint, weary smile.

A screeching, a clanging, an awful, final bang.

Percy's world collapsed.

He was screaming, but he wasn't sure if he was making any sense. His face felt wet, but he wasn't sure if it was from the falling rain that was wetting the dirt or if he was doing it himself. His knees buckled and Jason kept him upright, but the son of Jupiter was trembling all over. Percy felt like a leaf caught in a storm, shaking uncontrollably. His head felt like it was going to explode, like someone had just rammed an stick of ice between his eyes. His heart was beating too loudly and his head was racing and he couldn't breathe... he couldn't breathe... he was falling... falling... falling...

"Percy?"

Someone was calling him.

"NO!" His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright in bed, gasping and choking.

His sheets were twisted around his legs and he was soaked in sweat. His hand was stretched out, reaching for something that wasn't there.

His mother turned on the light and grasped his outstretched hand. "Percy, sweetheart, are you alright?"

He swallowed, nodded, and tried to gain some of his breath back. "Nightmare. I'm okay. Where's the phone?"

"Percy..."

"You're right," Percy said, not really listening. "Iris-message would be more effective." He reached for his nightstand, fumbling around. Riptide passed through his fingers, paper. He knocked a glass off before his finger closed around a coin.

He waved a hand and mist appeared in thin air.

"Percy-" His mother squeezed his arm, but he shook her off.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering." He tossed the coin into the mist. "Show me Annabeth, in Virginia."

There was a pause. A woman's face, sad and tender, appeared in the water vapor. Iris handed the coin back to Percy and the message went black and disappeared.

His mother was silent beside him.

"I..." He wasn't sure what he was saying. "I just thought..."

"I know, sweetheart." His mother wrapped her arms around him. "I know."

He felt his face crumple and he buried his face in her shoulder, letting her hold him like he was little and safe and before he had fallen.

"Perseus Jackson?"

Zeus's voice echoed around the throne room.

Percy stood and looked around. Jason and Piper were standing hand in hand. Piper's face was wet with tears and Jason's other hand was gripping the hilt of his ceremonial sword so tightly his knuckles were white. Frank had Hazel wrapped in a bear hug, holding the shaking girl as she smiled through her tears, grateful to be granted a pardon from her father. Leo sat at the edge of the circle, his shoulders shaking.

His father stood. His eyes were hard and sad and he looked older. "Percy..."

"Don't." Percy shook his head. "Please."

His father smiled a little. He shrank into human size and stepped down towards his son. He grasped his shoulder and pulled Percy into a hug.

Percy didn't return it.

Poseidon sighed and stepped away, returning to his throne.

"You have been very brave," Zeus said, vaguely as if it pained him. "We have offered you the highest gift the gods can bestow. I'm afraid... there is nothing we can give you that would fit your service to Olympus."

"There's nothing that I want from you anyway," Percy said, looking down at the floor. He nodded slightly, then turned and went to leave.

"Wait," a woman's voice said.

Percy turned. He saw Athena stand and make her way towards him, until they were standing eye to eye.

"I said that your fatal flaw would destroy the world someday, Perseus," the goddess said. "I did not realize it would be your world." She smiled at him sadly. "Thank you."

"For what?" Percy's voice caught.

"For being the world to my daughter."

And the goddess bowed.

"Last day of school!" John shouted as he slammed his locker shut.

"You don't have to act so happy about it," Jessica said as she grinned at her friend.

Percy looked at his mortal friends, clowning around and being excited for the start of summer.

"Come on, let's not stay here longer than we have to," Emily said, leading the way out the door. John followed her and Jessica smiled at Percy before going after them.

Percy took his backpack from his hook and shut his high-school locker for the last time that year.

"So, Percy, what are you planning to do this summer?" John asked. "Going to that camp of yours? Gonna see your girlfriend? The hot blonde, right? What was her name?"

Percy's blood turned to ice.

Camp.

Annabeth.

Doors.

"I mean, if you weren't dating her, I'd probably make a move on her myself!"

Falling.

Darkness.

Cold.

Annabeth.

Come on, breathe. Breathe.

"It must be cool to go there. I would if I-hey, man, are you okay?"

Tartarus.

Monsters.

Falling.

Dying.

Blood.

Dying.

Breathe. Breathe!

"Percy? Hey, come on, snap out of it!"

Out.

Shut.

Gone.

Done.

Doors.

Death.

Falling.

Annabeth.

Breathe.

"Percy?"

"Percy!"

"Somebody-help!"

Breathe. That wasn't breathing. You're not breathing.

Breathe.

COME ON, BREATHE!

He managed to finally suck enough air into his lungs and gasped. His legs buckled and someone was helping him sit down, holding his hand. Voices were rushing around him, too loud and too soft and too quickly. His vision blurred.

He wasn't sure how much time passed until his mom was there, crouched in front of him, stroking the skin on the back of his hand and helping him to breathe again.

He was cold.

The monster lay a few feet away, dead and crumbling slowly to dust. Riptide was inches from his fingertips, but he made no attempt to pick it up.

His chest heaved up and down in a desperate attempt to get enough air into his lungs. His shirt was shredded and sticky with a hot, burning pain. He tasted blood.

It was getting dark.

He was wet. Rain was falling and mixing with the blood on his skin, his ruined shirt. He almost laughed at the irony of it all. He would die wet. He would die drowning.

He turned his head to the side and looked at his sword. The bronze was gleaming in the half-light and the raindrops clung to the blade. He looked away. He didn't want to be himself anymore. He didn't want to hold onto this life.

His vision was beginning to blur. His lungs didn't take air in so quickly.

A face appeared above him. Blonde hair, grey eyes.

His breathe caught. He choked. "Annabeth-" Blood spilled over his lips as he coughed.

She smiled. "Seaweed Brain. I'm here."

"I missed... you..." He coughed again.

"Shhh." Her hand smoothed the hair from his forehead. "I'm right here. It'll be okay. We're together." She stood and reached out her hand.

Percy glanced at the fading world around him. He tilted his head back towards the sky and looked into the clouds, looked up into the rain. The darkness was retreating and he smiled, for just a moment. He no longer felt the cold. He was no longer falling.

He was no longer afraid.

And he reached up and took her hand.

Yup.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

And if any of you caught the little twist I did with the title, don't hesitate to tell me!

Hope you all get your books tomorrow! I'll be praying that you all survive the uber-gigantic cliffhanger we know Rick's going to throw at us.

Have a wonderful release date and a great rest of the day/week/month/year/until I see you again.

Also, I've become addicted to Supernatural.

Okay bye.