This story happens in TLO, after Luke stabs himself under his arm. The rest of TLO happens, with several minor changes, if you can spot them.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of this. I don't even own the books – they're my cousin's. How saddening. All I own is a battered movie ad, cut out from the newspaper. And that's worth nothing.

All bold italics are lines from the book.

1. Going, going, gone

Luke's POV

I could feel myself fading away. I felt like mist, the non-magical kind, only half transparent, not quite here, not quite there. My vision was blurring.

"Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it…" I stopped to catch my breath. Talking was getting harder now. Don't let it happen again."

As I said this, I felt a spark of anger towards the gods. This was their entire fault. If they hadn't…but there was no point crying over spilt nectar now. All I could do was hope I made a difference ultimately. I locked eyes with Percy.

"I won't. I promise."

I nodded, and looked at the heroes knelt around my wrecked body. Fighting for what they thought was right. I did too, in the end. But one good deed could never save me from my five years of evil. It was time to face the consequences.

I let my hand go slack, and my world turned black.

When I opened my eyes again, the pain was gone. I was lying in the arms of somebody, supported at my shoulders and knees. The man carrying me wore a helmet with fluttering wings, and winged sandals. I recognised him immediately.

"Hermes."

My dad looked at me, his face streaked with tears. I never knew gods could cry. "We're going to the Underworld now. It's my duty to bring every dead soul across." His voice cracked, like he was going to burst into fresh tears again. "Luke, my son," he whispered. "You were a hero in the end. You'll go to Elysium, I'll make sure of that."

"So…I'm dead now?"

Hermes squeezed a tear out of his eye. "I don't know how many times you've felt like you're dead before, but this time, I'm quite certain you are. Please understand, I didn't want this to happen, but I couldn't …I couldn't interfere."

I smiled at him, years and years of hatred and bitterness for him vanishing in an instant. I finally understood why he had to be so distant, so cold. Fate could not be tampered with. Everything worked out exactly as it was supposed to. Not even a god could change that.

"It's OK, Dad. I'll take whatever punishment Hades decides to give me. I must atone for my mistakes. I'm not a hero. And…" I wanted to say I'm sorry, but the words got caught in my dry throat.

"Hush, my boy. No matter what the outcome is, I will support you. I will stand by you while you are being judged. You are a hero, no matter what you think, and you will never feel abandoned again, I promise you that."

It's so short! I thought it was longer. I wrote this in Bintan when I went there for a holiday (complete waste of time, I know, but it was raining!), and meant to keep it secret till it was done. Unfortunately my nosy sister went looking. :(

Anyway, please R+R! And also, if you have a better title suggestion, please PM me or tell me in your review!

I like Luke. :D He's awesome.