Near the end of the Titan's curse...

Percy slid on his knees to the side of the dying Zoe Nightshade, heedless of the bits of gravel that dug into his knees. "No, no, no!" He muttered. "This can't be happening. I promised!" He screamed in anger at the sky. "Please, if anyone is listening, save Zoe. I will give anything for that to happen."

Silence reigned supreme for a few seconds before there was a quiet pop and Percy jerked backward in surprise. The mangled body of Luke hovered in the air before him, head tilted at a gruesome angle, his body bloody and torn. Percy would have thought that he was dead, except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Luke's eyes turned solid gold before his body turned slightly so that he could look Percy in the face. When he spoke, his voice turned into a low rumble. "Anything?" The sound of his voice echoed throughout the area, gathering the attention of Artemis and the other questors.

"Kronos.." Artemis hissed, dashing over. Still exhausted from the earlier fight, she swayed on her feet slightly before steadying herself and pulling her pair of long knives, settling into a combat stance.

Luke, or the thing inside of Luke, cocked an eyebrow at her. "Begone." He said, lazily waving his hand in her general direction. A wall of force blindsided her with the force of a freight train, sending her flying back into a rocky crag of the mountain before falling, limp, to the ground. Annabeth and Thalia ran after her, checking to see if she was alright. Luke turned his attention back to Percy. "Allow me to make myself more presentable." He snapped his fingers, causing his entire body to shake in agony. Bones instantly reformed, muscle and sinew knotting themselves back together as his head, with a sickening crack, straightened to its normal place atop his neck. "Now." Luke purred, slowly stalking forward. "I believe that you said something about doing anything to bring her back?"

Percy slowly backed away, making sure to keep Luke at a distance. "Anything but join you."

"Oh, I don't want you to join me." Luke shook his head, chuckling. "I've changed my mind. I don't expect you to join me." His eyes hardened, becoming like two chips of frozen ice. "I expect you to die." He said coldly.

Percy staggered back a step before recovering his balance. "My life for hers?"

"Indeed. You are a nuisance, and I want you gone. I will even make it painless for you, like the kind relative that I am."

"But... The prophecy..." Percy said uncertainly.

"What about it?" Luke asked. "I can find a way around it. All I need is for you to say yes, and take her place in death. So I ask you, do we have a deal?" Luke asked, folding his arms impatiently.

Percy hesitated for a moment, glancing at Zoe's body on the ground, before checking over his shoulder in time to see Artemis groggily being helped to her feet by Thalia and Annabeth. He licked his lips for a moment, weighing his options, eyes flicking from Zoe to Luke and back again. "Agreed."

"The bargain is struck." Luke hissed in satisfaction, before clapping his hands together.

Percy's body went rigid before he touched his arm with his hand cautiously. "I feel... numb..." he stated before crumpling, his limp body falling to the hard packed dirt, crashing down full length next to Zoe. Mere moments later, Zoe shot to her feet, looking around wildly.

"What is going - Perseus!" She screamed, falling to her knees and placing his head on her lap, searching his body desperately for any sign of a wound.

"Don't bother." Luke said, stepping forward. "He is not injured through battle. He has exchanged his life for yours."

Zoe's eyes locked on him. "You did this." She growled coldly. "You will pay." She laid Percy's head gently on the ground, scooping a knife off of the ground.

"Think very carefully about your next move." Luke growled, ancient armor appearing over his body. "I cannot harm you now, but if you challenge me, I will retaliate." Luke warned, taking a battle stance.

Zoe recoiled a few steps as if struck. "Titan." She whispered.

"Indeed. I recommend you return your attention to your boy toy, he does not have much longer to live. I am doing him a favor by even letting him survive this long." He snorted, before winking out of sight without another word.

She hesitated before dropping her knife and returning to her knees next to Percy. "Why, why, you stupid male," she whispered, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Why," Zoe gently asked again, cradling his head.

"Why?" Perseus whispered back. "Because I promised you I wouldn't let you die. And we stupid males keep our promises," He finished with a slight smirk, grasping her hand. He broke off, looking at her silhouette pictured against the backdrop of a dark sky. Her beautiful onyx eyed and her glossy black hair. "Also..." He hesitated. "Should I tell her?" He debated internally. Finally, he decided he had nothing to lose, so he kept talking. "Also...because I love you."

A gasp was heard from the figure holding him. With the last of his strength, he held up a finger to her lips, quieting her. "I know it could never have worked between us." He said.

"No, that's not what I meant Perseus. I think I have feelings for you too, but I'm ... Not sure about it." He nodded his head, disappointed in spite of himself. "Thank you", Zoe whispered to him.

"Always," he gasped out in reply. His body tensed up as he looked past her into the distance. "So that is what the Grim Reaper looks like." He muttered with dark humor before his face went vacant.

Zoe shouted for Artemis who rushed over.

"Can you help him?" the lieutenant of the hunt asked urgently. Artemis took one look at him and shook her head.

"This wound is beyond my skill to heal, maybe even Apollo's." She stated. "But I can try." She added.

Percy stopped her with a simple "Please, don't. It isn't fixable." Artemis nodded slowly, understanding.

Annabeth, however, did not. "You are a god Lady Artemis, why can't you help him!"

Artemis spun on her heel and hissed angrily, pulling one hand back as if to slap her. "Silence girl. I am not a god of healing, and he made a bargain with a powerful entity. There is nothing I can do." She said reluctantly as she looked away.

Percy's body suddenly relaxed, sagging towards the ground. As his eyes started to close Zoe leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, whispering to him only three words. "I. Love. You."

Artemis came to Zoe's side looking down at his body with slight disdain. "He was a true bo-man" she said reluctantly, as if the words were bitter in her mouth. "He shall rest in the stars forever." She said, murmuring under her breath and raising her hands. As Percy started to dissolve, the last thing Zoe saw of him was his smile, slowing glimmering as it turned to dust. Looking up, she saw the stars rearrange themselves into the shape of a boy holding a sword in both hands. "May he be forever known as Perseus, the selfless hero." Artemis proclaimed. "May the world honor you."

"Now," she stated, serious again. "I must go to the winter solstice meeting-" she was cut off by a gasp from Thalia.

"The monster army! From the Princess Andromeda!" Instantly understanding the danger, the four rushed to the edge of the cliffs and looked down. Barely twenty feet below them, hundreds of monsters marched up the path to the top of the mountain. Suddenly, there was a buzzing, and then a loud clatter. And the remainder of the quest whipped around, they saw a World War One era Sopwith Camel dive-bombing the army.

"Get away from my daughter!" Mr. Chase shouted as he leaned over the side. The machine guns continued to fire, disintegrating the first few rows of monsters.

"An interesting man," Artemis said grudgingly. "Now let's go, we must hurry to Olympus". As the group got on the chariot of the moon and took off, Mr. Chase banked his plane around in a tight turn, and followed them like an honor guard. When they arrived at Olympus, the entire city was lite up.

"The winter solstice" Annabeth whispered in awe. "It must have started." They climbed to the top. Once there, the throne room doors were thrown open, as a deep voice boomed out at them in welcome.

A/N

Hi everyone! This is my first story. Reviews are welcome, it really helps if I know what you guys want. (Assuming anyone bothers to read this) I will try to send the next update out in the next day or two. This should have no more than 5 chapters, this should not be a very long story. I have a set plot line, but can alter/extend/draw it out if you guys want. See ya later!

-Texas

Chapter revised as of December 8, 2017