Percy gripped Annabeth's hand, immediately thinking what he could do to save them. His mind raced a million miles, but all of his ideas were garbage. He hoped Annabeth would have conceived some brilliant idea, but she was as stumped as he was.

His hand ached as Annabeth's nails tore into his skin and her fierce grip stopped his blood from circulating, but he was alive. And maybe not for long…

He tried summoning water with no luck. He tried finding a ledge. Nothing worked and it was quite obvious that this was how Percy was going to go down. Loyalty.

Sure, it meant standing by others, but it also meant sacrifice. He was too loyal, too hopeless, too in love to hold on. He was a literal weight that Annabeth had to carry. Percy wasn't sure if he could have held on for so long, but knowing himself, he would have gladly jumped with her.

So, it was true. Loyalty would be his end. He had a wild thought that maybe when he let go, his loyalty would somehow transport him back up because he couldn't be without Annabeth.

He looked at her, with dirt and grime on her face and clothes, her hurt ankle, her grey eyes…. Percy analyzed every detail. Every curl of her hair, every wrinkle on her clothes, everything.

"Annabeth," he muttered calmly. "Let me go." He knew he'd have to pry his fingers loose anyways because Annabeth simply wasn't going to give up, but he had to give her more time to accept his fate.

"I'm not letting you go Seaweed brain. I am not letting you go. As long as we're together it'll all be okay," she muttered frantically, almost in tears.

"Let go, Annabeth! We're both going to fall if you don't let go!" He hadn't meant to say it so harshly, but Annabeth had sounded so frantic and worried…Percy never wanted to hear her like that. Her voice was so scared and hysterical and frantic is had almost made Percy cry.

Then, after what seemed like an awfully long time, Annabeth just shouted "No!" like she had just registered what he said, or she was slipping, or-and Percy was sure- there was some godly presence in her mind that she was speaking to.

Annabeth's secret conversation seemed over and then she looked at Percy. He knew in that instant that she intended to jump with him. He tried removing his fingers, one at a time, but they were so numb and blood-deprived that he only managed a slow little movement after which Annabeth clutched him even harder and sunk her nails even deeper.

Percy couldn't help but feel a bit angry. He was trying to save her life here! He cared too much for her to do this. It would have been better for her to just let him fall. Then, he could die knowing that she was okay. That was all that mattered to him. But she wouldn't, and he couldn't convince her otherwise. He didn't understand how he could ever deserve Annabeth.

"We're staying together," she promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Then Annabeth let go of her tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, she and Percy fell into the endless darkness.