Work Text:
Annabeth had never wished she would die before.
In all of the battles she'd fought, injuries she'd sustained, heartbreaks she'd endured, she'd always persisted. She'd always believed there would be light on the other side.
Mount Othrys had snuffed that light out.
She crouched in the gravel and dirt, the skin of her knees rubbed raw and bleeding. Her hair hung limp around her face, streaked with gray. All she could see was the ground below her as her body was forced closer to the floor.
Her ruined dress clung to her broken form, the fabric torn and stained. Her bare arms and legs shook in the December cold, her lips chapped and her face streaked with grime.
She didn't know how long she'd been holding the sky, it could've been years for all she knew. Every moment she thought it would overtake her, and she began to wish it would.
Her dance with Percy seemed lifetimes ago, and she could feel him slipping away.
Her imagination ran wild to the point she wasn't sure what was reality anymore. She imagined her mother, bursting through the cavern wall, taking the burden from her.
She knew that fantasy wasn’t real.
She could've sworn she'd felt Percy next to her a few times, could feel his presence in the room.
She worried about him.
Don't come for me, Annabeth thought to herself.
She could imagine him making his way across America, coming to rescue her from this fate. She could imagine him taking the weight from off of her shoulders. It would kill him, she just knew it would.
Don't come for me, Seaweed Brain, Annabeth thought. Don't die with me.
When Artemis finally took the sky from her, Annabeth wasn't relieved. Not fully. She lay on the ground, her whole body shaking, with exhaustion, with hunger, with loss.
She prayed to every god she knew that she would die.
**********
She didn't remember being moved from where she'd collapsed, but when her eyes fluttered open, she wasn't in the cavern anymore.
She didn't recognize her surroundings. It was a small, unassuming room, stone walls and floors. She had been deposited in a heap in the center of the room.
Her hands were bound, as were her ankles. A gag had been shoved in her mouth, as if she had the energy to scream.
She'd been thoroughly broken, and she hated herself for succumbing to the melancholy.
**********
“Wake up,” a familiar voice commanded, accompanied by a nudge of his boot.
Annabeth knew who it was without looking.
Luke looked over her, reaching down and cutting the ropes binding her ankles together. He pulled the gag out of her mouth, and she gasped as cool air reentered her lungs. He pulled her to her feet, and in her daze, she leaned into him.
She recoiled, using all her strength to stand on her own, every muscle screaming to lay back down.
“Didn't I tell you your help would be coming?” Luke smiled, like it was enough reason to forgive him for everything he'd done.
“What are you talking about?” Annabeth's voice came out weak and hoarse.
“Percy's here,” Luke explained. “Scouts spotted him, Thalia, and a hunter coming up the mountain.”
Annabeth's eyes widened. Why would they come here? She wasn't worth the trouble. The death that would come from this.
“Don't hurt him, Luke,” Annabeth pleaded. “Just let me leave with them.”
She feared what would happen if Luke and Percy fought again, memories of the two previous summers swirling in her mind.
“We have plans for all of you,” Luke explained. “It's up to them how this goes.”
**********
Annabeth stood next to Luke in the cavern, Atlas nearby. Artemis still crouched underneath the sky, ichor dripping from her wounds as she struggled.
Annabeth felt dead on her feet, her bones aching, her skin cracking from the cold. She'd been regagged, her hands bound in front of her, her wrists rubbed raw.
Get out of here, you idiots, Annabeth thought. While you still can.
As if her plea had wished the opposite into existence, Percy, Thalia, and a huntress Annabeth didn't recognize appeared at the mouth of the cave, weapons brandished and ready.
Percy immediately scanned the room, his eyes moving rapidly before landing on her across the space.
Something in his expression broke while taking in her broken body, the way she wobbled on her feet.
“Let her go, Luke,” Percy demanded, taking a step forward.
Annabeth's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically. This was not the way to go about this. Percy was reckless, acted on his emotions. All out war would not win this battle.
Percy didn't seem happy about it, but he stepped back to Thalia's side.
Luke meanwhile, ignored Percy's request.
“Thalia,” Luke spoke directly to her. “Now that you're here, we can win the war. Take down the gods. Like we always dreamed of.”
Thalia looked around at the scene before her, her eyes lingering on Annabeth.
“Not like this, Luke,” Thalia said, a disgusted look on her face. “If you can do this-” Thalia paused and gestured at Annabeth, “ to our little sister, I can never trust you again.”
“Very well,” Atlas finally spoke. “She's made her choice. Kill them all.”
**********
Annabeth had been pushed to the side once the fighting started, and once she hit the ground, she found it impossible to return to her feet.
The battle raged on around her, screams echoing around the chamber. She had no weapon, no strength, but it didn't stop her from forcing herself to turn over, forcing herself to watch.
Thalia and Luke were locked in intense combat near the mouth of the cave, Atlas and the huntress trading blows near where she lay.
Percy was aiding the huntress who Annabeth had heard him call Zoë.
Then all of a sudden, he sprinted towards where Artemis crouched underneath the sky, and kneeled next to her.
Before Annabeth could scream, the weight of the sky landed on Percy's shoulders, pushing him towards the ground. Annabeth watched as a strand of his hair turned gray, matching the one at the crown of her own head.
Annabeth realized suddenly that everything she had feared had come to pass. Her, helpless on the ground as Percy struggled, her brother and sister fighting to the death. She hadn't been able to fix any of it. If anything, she'd made it worse.
She didn't want to die anymore. She wanted to fix things.
**********
She knew the battle was over when Percy rolled out from under the sky.
He laid on the ground, still. A minute passed, and he seemed to recover, pushing himself up onto his knees. He scanned the room, eyes locking on Annabeth.
He hurried over to her, skidding to a stop next to where she lay. Using every ounce of her strength, she threw her arms around him, and he held her.
“You're okay, you're okay,” Percy breathed, pulling back to look at her.
She pressed her forehead against his, the matching gray streaks in their hair brushing together.
“You didn't think I was dead?” Annabeth asked, her voice breaking. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but throughout her captivity, she hadn't wanted to die. She simply didn't want to face the fact that she may never see her friends again. Never see Percy again. Or, gods forbid, be the cause of their deaths.
“Never,” Percy said with certainty.
“I'm so sorry,” Annabeth cried, a week's worth of emotions flooding out of her. “I'm the reason you had to endure all of this.”
“Don't apologize,” Percy brushed a tear off of her cheek, gripped her hand to steady her. “I would make the decision a thousand times over.”
“Me too,” Thalia said, joining Percy and Annabeth where they sat. Annabeth hugged her tight, tears flowing freely.
“We take care of our own.”
**********
Percy and Annabeth sat away from the others as Zoë was blessed by Artemis, as Thalia said her goodbyes.
Annabeth had barely been able to get off of the mountain, Percy had had to carry her to their pegasus, hold her to him the whole ride, as she was unable to keep herself on.
She shook, shivering in the cold, winter air.
Percy peeled off his jacket immediately, wrapping it around her shoulders. She smiled gratefully, pulling it tight around her. It smelled like home, smelled like him.
She didn't have much to say, didn't want to talk about what happened to her, but it was also the elephant in the room that couldn't be avoided.
But Percy didn't pry, and she loved him for it. He just sat next to her, let her process everything that had happened.
“What happens now?” Annabeth asked.
“We're heading to Olympus,” Percy said, seemingly annoyed. “Artemis says it's unavoidable.”
“Makes sense,” Annabeth said. “Thalia is turning sixteen at midnight.”
“I guess it wasn't me after all,” Percy said, and Annabeth couldn't read his expression. He seemed happy and sad about the fact at the same time.
Annabeth sighed. “Somehow I'm getting the feeling that this is far from over.”
**********
Annabeth sat out on the porch of the Big House, breathing in the cool night air, listening to the crickets chirp. She couldn't quite believe she'd made it back to camp. It seemed completely impossible back on Mt. Othrys.
She'd been overjoyed to leave Olympus and head home, especially because she'd finally been able to shower and change her clothes. She hadn't eaten since she'd been captured either, so dinner at the mess hall had been long overdue. Percy had made her eat slowly, but she could tell he was excited to see her spark come back.
She hadn't seen Percy since the morning. She didn't blame him for wanting some time to himself, after the news they'd received from the gods.
Annabeth could hardly wrap her head around it, and if she thought about it too long, tears pricked at her eyes.
And that part of her where her fatal flaw lived couldn't seem to stay quiet. It was utterly convinced she could still save her Seaweed Brain.
She would save him.
Just as he had saved her.