Fates

Slightly AU: Annabeth died throughout the fight against the Giants in Greece. After Gaea has been defeated and the Romans and the Greeks submitted peace, an awarding ceremony is held. Further, the last time Percy has been offered the Gift of the Gods, he also asked for Hades and Hestia to have their thrones returned so both of them are Olympians already.

Olympus, Throne Room; Percy
Everyone was wearing relieved expressions and was happy. Well everyone except the remaining 6 including Nico and Athena. That also includes me. I was far from happy if anybody would have cared, but the Gods were simply to happy to have their butts saved. Again. The mood alongside our small group was depressed to say the least. No one of us really cheered. If you´d ask me, the throne room and Olympus never looked worse. Colourless and dreary, the hearth which usually filled me with hope and emotions only my Mother and home could, looked dark and didnt radiate any heat at all.

You could say that it was just me who thought and felt like that but I guess it´s not too unusual to feel like I do when the love of your life just died and sacrificed herself to stop a useless bitch of earth mother from freaking waking up. For me, it didnt feel like we won and saved earth at all, it was more like my earth or rather my whole word died together with Annabeth.

Yeah I guess nobody wants to keep hearing me and my rant going on and on about how much life sucks and how depressed I am etc. but thats how I felt. Athena, on her throne, didnt seem to be much happier than I was but she tried to keep some kind of a straight face. What exposed her feelings were thoose Storm Grey Eyes I loved. I had about 6 years to learn to read thoose eyes and though its not her but her mother im "reading" right now.

Alongside my whining, Zeus or rather Jupiter started his speech, which was kind of similar to the one about 1 year ago, including the praising on the gods and especially him himself and how he has beaten Porphyron together with his son.

His son, Jason, was also the first one to be awarded by the council.

"Jason Grace! Please Step forward." Jupiter spoke as Jason did as he was asked.

"Jason, you made me proud. You are infact a skilled warrior, a dutiful roman Praetor and a great comrade. You shouldve got the Gift of the Gods, which is something only one person in millennia has been granted."

At this everyone gasped, while some looked confused, even some of the seven, because I appareantly never told them that i was offered Godhood.

"W-who has been offered the gift before?", asked a shocked Leo.

"Well, Leo Valdez, dear Percy over there defeated the Titan Lord Kronos after defending Manhattan against an army of Monsters and Demi Gods for several days. In the mean time he aswell thought of a plan to bring Typhoon back to Tartarus. And he still managed to look absolutely handsome when we came back here after Typhoon fell." said Aphrodite with a wink in my Direction.

As response to thoose news there was another gasp throughout the throne room. Thoose who didnt know of this looked at me in shock, while some of the huntresses of Artemis seemed even more Confused. I guess a man who didnt surge for power isnt something they have heard of.

Though I guess thoose who were most confused were probably new ones, because Im pretty sure Thalia would tell of her dearest cousins achievements.

I, on the other hand was kind of zoned out, remembering the day i fought Kronos, the day Luke sacrifices himself to stop him and, after all, the day Annabeth and I started dating. A single tear silently rolled down my cheek as I thought about our under water kiss after we have been thrown into the lake in Camp Half-Blood.

All eyes were on me, some looks were filled with pity, some with awe and some, all of them belonging to woman, even with lust. Lust, are you kidding me. Yeah I guess even the savior of Olympus twice over didnt deserve atleast some consideration. Weird enough that Aphrodite had the same look of lust, but I guess beeing me it wasnt so weird at all.

Jupiter discretly coughed to gain the attention back, which only worked in some kind. Aphrodites and Athenas gaze stayed one me, while Jason turned around to his father and kneel in front of his Throne.

"Though you would have been offered Godhood, the councel had heard of your plan to build shrines for every single God and Goddess, so they may eventually receive the Respect they deserve" Jupiter said the last word like it left a bad taste in his mouth, which it, referring to his opinion on minor Gods, probably did.

"So Jason Grace, we, the council, will offer you Immortality, for your deeds in Honor of Olympus, alongside with help for your Mission and further supplies if you need them." Jupiter said with pride evident in his voice.

"Im honored, Lord Jupiter, and i accept your generous Offer." Jason stated after a short moment of thinking carefully.

The awarding Ceremony went on and on, everyone of the seven, or rather atleast what remains off of them..., was offered Immortality together with some other small awards like the Curses of Frank and Hazel beeing removed or something small they desired for some time.

Nico on the other hand was offered Godhood, including beeing the now official Ghost Kind and Heir of the Underworld.

Everyone accepted and soon there were 7 Immortal turned Demigods and me. Yay.

I guess that means im the next, and like the last time, and the last one.

"Perseus Jackson!" My name spoken, or rather yelled out by my father echoed through the Throne Room.

I snapped out of my trance and stepped forward.

I first looked my dad, then Jupiter dead in the eyes. Jupiter seemed to expect me to bow or kneel or something like that, but i just stood there looking him straight in the eyes, not even blinking. Jupiter just sighed at my manors and changed back to Zeus.

"Perseus Jackson, you have played a key role in saving the Olympus. For the second time now and even I, as sceptical of my brothers children as I am, have to admit that you have done great things, ever since you discovered your parentage." Zeus said with reluctance evident in his voice.

I gotta admit even I in my state was stunned at his statement. I didnt expect Zeus to ever show me even some respect.

"The council has discussed what has happened, including my daughters daughter perishment and we decided to offer you, once again, the greatest gift Gods can offer. But, referring to your accomplishments, you should not be offered simple Godhood, but a seat in the Olympian Council and beeing one of our fellow Olympians."

Well, I gotta admit I was stunned to say the least. I was offered Godhood before and I didnt expect them to offer it again. But now im not offered only Godhood, but beeing an Olympian aswell. It was tempting, but I could not simply flee through Immortality and Godhood. I was probably looking pretty shocked because Zeus snickered a bit seeing my expression.

I was looking through the Throne Room and looked at my friends. Most nodded encouraging to accept, though Jason seemed a bit jealous. I guess thats a common thing for children of Zeus. Athena though smiled sadly at me, probably thinking about Annabeth. And then a thought formed in my mind.

"Im flattered, by your generous offer, but once again I need to decline the offer of Godhood even though its beeing an Olympian God." I stated firmly.

Everyone and I mean everyone in the room gasped in shock. My dad even seemed to be a bit dissapointed, but im pretty sure he understands my reasoning.

Athena on the other hand was now happy as hell. She knew I wanted to be reunited with Annabeth in Elysium and that wont happen once I accepted Immortality in any form.

Zeus was straight up shocked and probably a bit angry, but I decided to ignore it for the moment.

"You all probably know, now that I wont accept Godhood, I would like to ask for a few, i should call it favours." I stated firmly again.

"Very well Perseus, please continue." Zeus said still a bit angry, but a lot more disciplined now.

"Well, first, I would really, really like you to free the peaceful Titans already. I have heard you havent though you swore it on the Styx." At this some of the Gods looked a bit ashamed, beeing remembered of their promise.

"Very well, Hermes this is your task, please go and release thoose like Leto and Calypso in an Instant after the ceremony." Zeus stated with Autority evident in his voice, much more composed now that he accepted that I dont want to become a God.

Hermes simply nodded, whispered to Martha to remind him and looked back to me, expecting more "favours".

They probably expected i would ask for a lot more but there was only one thing left I wanted.

"So, that already nearly was it, there is only one more thing I would like to ask you for. But this time I, again, need your promise to fulfill my wish if it is within your power." I said, now eager to have my wish granted.

"We, the Olympian Council, swear on the Styx to fulfill your wish, if its within our power." Zeus spoke firmly.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, implying that the deal has ben sealed.

I nodded to signalize my recognition and spoke:

"Bring Annabeth back to life."

The mood dropped like a stone. A pretty heavy, giant stone. You could probably have heard a needle drop, everybodys jaw dropped to the ground, figuratively.

The fire of the hearth, before bright red and probably pretty hot, was now grey and cold like ice.

No one moved an inch, nobody spoke, nobody dared to.

Zeus looked at me like I just spit in his face, unable to form a sentence, leave out a word.

"I know it is against the ancient laws, but you promised on the Styx to fulfill my wish if it is within your power, and it for sure is." I said, already a little bit strained.

Hades was pale, even paler than usual, sweat drops rolling down his neck.

"Percy..." my dad said, sadness evident in his voice.

"I dont care for the consequences, do it." I said, my anger barely restrained.

Zeus, still unable to utter a word, looked at Hades, helpless.

Hades looked as helpless as Zeus did, and wanted to say something in response, but was interrupted by a flash in the middle of the room, close to the hearth.

The flash revealed 3 old women, i knew just too well. Well in fact I didnt know them that well but Im pretty sure they knew me. After all i´ve met them a few times before and well, they made my life a living hell.

There were the 3 Fates in all their 90 year old looking glory.

In unison they spoke: "Perseus, you shall not request the revival of Annabeth Chase."

Now, it was me who was utterly shocked. I thought I had made a great plan, let the Gods swear on the Styx etc. but I guess the Fates just needed to fuck me up. Another time.

"What?!" was the only thing I could respond.

"Annabeth Chase shall not be survived." they simply stated.

"Are you fucking serious?! You useless old hags are really telling me that I cant bring Annabeth back? Why? Why the fuck do you hate me?" I screamed, not even caring who I was talking to.

"Perseus, we would like to explain something to you." Atropos said, almost softly which shocked me yet again.

"We know how your life has been, how you overcame every challenge fate had for you. You stayed strong where most would have been broken. You continued where most would have surrendered. But, Perseus let me tell you one thing: We, in fact, dont control fate." Clotho now stated.

To be honest, I was pretty confused. I always thought these 3 women were responsible for my tasks, my the deaths of so many friends, like Beckendorf or Zoe. I thought they were responsible for the death of Annabeth.

"Though we carry and execute fate, we are not the the ones who actually decide about it." Lechesis now said.

"Annabeth Chase´s fate was to die that day, in the fight against Gaea, so you shall not request her revival."

I was speechless to say the least. This must be some kind of a nightmare. This cant be real. Im done, seriously. Just as I was about to retort, Atropos spoke again.

"But, and this is a big but, your wish of revival of someone you called friend, should not be denied. Your wish to relieve some of the guilt you are carrying for every dead friend of yours, should be fulfilled. She was destined to die the day she did, just like she is destined to be revived today. She may not be the person you expect but definetely one you feel the most guilt about."

I was pretty confused, angry, dissapointed, sad and so much more, but I simply nodded.

The 3 fates began to chant something in a Language definitely older than Greek.

The Gods, of whom no one dared to speak to interrupt the fates, looked like turned into stone. I guess even they never witnessed someone beeing revived.

The lights dimmed, the temperatur dropped and Hades and Nico gasped. Thats probably an underworld thing. I dont know.

Then, there was another flash in front of the fates, forming a lying person.

When the flash subsided I was who it was, the fates resurrected. In front of them and me was lying a gorgeous girl, looking to be about 16 or 17, tanned and with black hair. On her head was a silver Tiara, marking her as a Lieutenant of Artemis.

I gasped, ran to her and kneelen by her head, putting it into my lap. Everyone else in the room was too shocked to move or speak, even Artemis though Im pretty sure she was incredibly happy.

The girl opened her eyes, her Obsidian Black eyes and looked at me. At first she was confused and had a questioning expression on her face. Then, it seemed like realization hit her.

Well, then she did something that surprised me and im pretty sure I wasnt the only suprised one.

She sat up and tackled me in a tight embrace.

I was shocked but I hugged her back. While I did, the only thing I was thinking was that im going to die. Painfully.

I was, in fact, hugging Zoe Nightshade, the millennia old former Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis.

She leaned back and looked me into the eyes and I stared back, into these thousand years old Obsidian black eyes, beeing hypnotisized by their beauty. Then she did something which kind of shocked me aswell, though I should have kind of expected it. She punched me. When she did this, Apollo couldnt contain his laughter. Im pretty sure it was because he has been punched by her several times before and I guess it was funny to see someone else in his usual position.

"Ow, what was that for?" I asked, trying to cover my Happiness about her revival in a fake pout.

"You stupid, no good, selfless man!" Zoe shouted. "How dare you to decline Godhood just that someone you called friend could be back alive?!"

"Well, no offense but I actually didnt intend to revive you" I said a bit embarassed, because Im pretty sure thats nothing someone who just was brought back to life would like to hear. It was like `yeah youre back alive, but it wasnt you who should be alive...´. Yeah thats atleast nothing I would like to hear.

That snapped most back out of their stupor. Artemis rushed from her Throne to Zoe, kind of tackling me out of the way, and hugged Zoe fiercely.

She muttered some soothing words in her not so long ago Lieutenant.

"Our Job here is nearly done, but there is one thing we need to mention before we leave. Zoe may return to the Hunt of Artemis, but with requesting her revival, hers and Perseus fate became kind of related. We may not tell in which kind or which way, but Perseus needs to stay close to Zoe. It will decide the fate of the world, if it helps to reduce your concerns." Atropos now stated again, before the 3 Fates dissappeared in a bright flash.

Line Break

Olympus Forum; Percy

I was still shocked. I mean I thought I could trick the gods to revive Annabeth and was rewarded with Zoe Nightshade and a Message which would be my inevitable death: staying close to her, deciding the worlds fate etc. etc...

Dont understand me wrong, I like Zoe, im proud to call her my friend and I always felt guilty for her death. I used to stare at her Constellation at night, when I was sunk in thoughts.

After the Rewarding Ceremony I received a lot of pitiful looks. Yeah I guess in the mean time the people understood that it sucked to be me. There was a party, like the one a few years ago. Ironically right after Zoes death...

This one was just as great as the one before but I couldnt enjoy it. I guess I dont need to explain why exactly I wasnt in Party Mood. So I quickly left, not able to stand the looks of pity and the not so subtle advances of some Goddesses, including Aphrodite.

I walked through the Streets of Olympus, in awe, watching the thing Annabeth has designed. Statues of the fallen Demi Gods, Temples and Celestial Bronze Plates to remember the onslaught of Kronos and his Army. I found my way into a garden. It was, in fact, a beautiful garden, with some bushes and a small fountain. In front of the fountain was a bench made of marmor, facing away from the fountain onto Manhattan and the night sky. I tried to find my favourite Constellation, the Huntress aka Zoe Nightshade. Yeah, I am in fact a Seaweed Brain, while I wondered where it was.

"Looking for something?" I heard a soft voice to my right, where the entrance of the garden was.

Standing there, was the reason I was looking for the Constellation without hope finding it. Zoe Nightshade.

"Yeah, I was looking for "the Huntress" but I guess I just found her, or rather she just found me." I said a bit embarassed that I really wasnt the brightest...

Zoe smirked at my comment. "May I sit with you?" she asked shyly.

I simply nodded in response and she, with the grace of a huntress, walked over to me.

I couldnt help but stare at her legs, moving like a panther would.

I quickly turned my gaze away from her, hoping she would not recognize the blush on my face.

Come on man, you cant be serious. Dont do that, thats simply disrespectful, not only to her and Artemis but most important to Annabeth.

That got me snapping back to reality as she sat down next to me.

"So I wasnt the one who shouldve been revived, huh?" she asked.

"Zoe, please dont misunderstand me but I wanted Annabeth to be revived. Im happy you are back alive though, I could never help but feel guilty thinking about your death. And you definetely deserve to be alive. But I loved Annabeth and Im not sure if Im able to go back to how it was before all this shit with Gaea started. I just dont know what to do with my life."

"Listen Perseus, you are not the one to blame for my death, the only one to blame is my dear Father." she said, trying to ease my concerns, though they were unreasonable now that she was back to life, while speaking "dear father" like she couldnt think of something more disgusting.

I just sighed and shook my head in response. "I couldve been stronger. I shouldnt have let you go face Ladon, he was the reason you were weakened. Im simply a coward, never able to save someone dear to me" I said while my head hang low.

That earned me the second punch of the day, but this time it was a stinging slap to my cheek. Well this one hurt.

"Oh come on Perseus, you are not one for self pity and for sure no one who wants others to pity him. I died to save Lady Artemis and I dont regret it. Annabeth died so Gaea could be defeated and she would cerntainly not want you to just give up your life" Zoe stated with a hint of anger in her Voice.

I just smirked at her retort, she kind of remembered me of Annabeth, not taking shit from me.

"I used to look at your Constellation a lot you know? When I was lost in thoughts I went to the beach at Camp Half-Blood, looking at the Huntress and it made me calm down." I said, knowing I would never be able to do that again.

"I know." Zoe said.

"You know? How do you know?" I asked confused.

"Well, I was still able to watch the world below. That includes you. I would be damned if I would let the only acceptable male in the world unattended."

"So you watched me, while I didnt know you were there? You could only see me when I was under the night sky right?" I asked slightly concerned Zoe might have seen something that wasnt destined for her eyes.

A small blush formed on her cheeks as she realized the hidden concern in my message und playfully hit my arm.

"You perv! I would never watch something like this even if I wouldve been able to" she snapped.

That made me laugh, the first time since Annabeth died. I gotta admit, it felt good. Im not used to beeing depressed and I dont like it, but it seemed so unfair that I was able to continue living while Annabeth died.

"Good, I would not want you to kill me for something I had no Influence on" I said while I still laughed a bit.

"You know, I missed you. Though we werent the tightest friends nor the longest, but you were the first thousands of years old person I could freely talk to." I said still smiling at her.

"Oh Im flattered, the great Perseus Jackson, savior of Olympus twice over, greatest Demi God to ever live, missed me. If I were one of the love sick Goddesses I would be fainting right now." She said, not even trying to cover up her sarcasm.

"Zoe, would you please stop calling me Perseus? And thoose Goddesses arent in the right state of mind, if you ask me. I mean how in the world would they come to the Conclusion that Im looking for this right now? Seriously..." I said smiling over her comment.

"Ok Percy, I guess after bringing me back to life I could do you one little favour. But there is still something that concerns me. Why do we need to stay close and how does it affect the worlds fate?" she asked, completely serious now.

I turned serious aswell, the smile beeing replaced by a frown. "I dont know but Im pretty sure you would like to return to the Hunter of Artemis and Im pretty sure it will seal my death if I would try to stay close to your when you are there."

"Oh you know, most of the hunters dont hate you. They know of your accomplishments and that you still are not boasting about it like about anybody else would. And they know of your love to Annabeth and your Loyalty to her. I guess you are the only male who would survive these circumstances." She said turning not so serious for a second before returning to her serious attitude. "But why we, or rather, why do we need to stay close? I mean you are still a male and I certainly didnt change my attitude towards them just because I was turned into a bunch of stars for a few years."

"I have seriously no clue but we need to work something out. It would probably be the best if we ask about Artemis´opinion aswell. It concerns one of her huntresses after all." I said. Then, with a bit of sadness and pain I said "It would be great to have Annabeth here, she would know what to do, she always did..."

Zoe layed her hand on my forearm in sympathy.

"She would be proud that you survived all this and she would be happy that I were brought back to life. She probably knew how much guilt you felt Percy but Im sure she is glad that you are fine." After she said that she seemed to struggle a bit. I turned to her just to see her blushing slightly. "And I missed you aswell Percy."

I smiled at her, turned back to the view over Manhattan and a comfortable silence swept over us as we sat there and just enjoyed the view.

Well hey, anybody who may read this. This is my first fan fic and im open for criticism. I may or may not make it a long one, depends on the readers and how my time table works out