The world was at peace; finally, after the long and hard struggles within both the world of the demigods and in the mortal world. But this was the clam before the storm, as both worlds were about to get something much more than either bargained for.
"Are you going?" Frank asked as he saw the look in Jason's face staring off towards cabin three. Many of the campers were worried that they haven't seen the face of one of their leaders since the fighting has stopped most understood the reason and kept their distance. Jason just nodded and walked silently to the mostly intact cabin his heart heavy in his chest. He knocked on the door but there was no answer after knocking again with no answer he slowly opened the door the place was a mess; things lay thrown about the cabin or in broken heaps on the floor.
"Percy?" he called in the musty room light coming from the window and reflecting light like water on the ceiling "Percy?" he called again still not getting a response he made his way through the wreckage where he found Percy on the balcony his back to him as the son of Poseidon looked out to sea.
"Percy you have been locked up in here since the end of the war you need to eat" Jason stated but still Percy didn't move or acknowledge his presence. "Percy it was been a week-"
"I miss her …" he whispered Jason frowned not catching Percy's mumbling
"what I can't hear you."
"I miss her." Percy sighed a little louder
"I know you do we all do but-"
"you don't understand she was my everything she what grounded me held me together all these years…" Percy's voice sounded so broken so lost he couldn't find the words to console his friend "you know when Hera took my Memories the 8 months I was gone there was only one name I remembered besides my own…"
"Annabeth…" Jason breathed Percy gave a little nod but still didn't turn away from the sea
"I was afraid to tell anyone that I remembered about her for the fear that it would slip away and I would have nothing to hold on to… her name kept me going, I thought that if I just made it to camp Jupiter if I did anything that was asked of me I could... could see her again…" Percy's voice faltered Jason stayed silent as he finally made it to Percy and sat down beside him " when we were 14 she got captured by a manticore and I went on a quest to save her on the way I met Aphrodite she told me I was her favorite… since I was going on this quest to save Annabeth and not the goddess Artemis who was also captured… at that time I realized I loved her and Aphrodite told me that it had been ages since she had a good tragic love story" Percy paused "I didn't know what she meant at the time but I guess this is what she meant I can't decide if she knew this was going to happen or if she orchestrated it"
"what do you mean?" Jason asked Percy stayed silent for a few minutes.
"I held up the sky for her, I gave up immortality for her I traveled through the depths of Tartarus for her I gave up everything, and still I wasn't strong enough to save her." Percy's voice cracked as fresh tears weld up in his eyes at this time Jason realized just how much Annabeth meant to Percy how much he loved her only for her to then die in his arms.
"Percy… Annabeth was a strong warrior one of the strongest I have ever seen and as an amazing leader she sacrificed herself to save us all so that you could live what would she say if she saw you like this?" he asked Percy stayed silent for several minutes
"she… she would probably punch me into next week and call me an idiot or ignore me until I snapped out of it." Percy spoke halfheartedly
"so, you can't go on like this you need to start moving on I know it has been only a week but reality if you continue all like this you not going to last much longer." Jason spoke softly but still in a demanding voice Percy turned to face him and Jason had to stifle a gasp Percy looked horrible in fact if he wasn't talking or moved Jason would think that he was dead; he had deep black bags under sunken red eyes his skin was ghostly pale and gave off a sickly green glow tear streaks ran down his hollow cheeks and he smelled like death warmed over. Jason knew some of it was still from his trip down in the pit since he hadn't really had time to recover from that but it still didn't take away from the fact that Percy looked dead.
Jason realized he was staring and neither of them had spoken Jason reached out a hand and placed it on Percy's thin shoulder to steady himself and to make sure Percy was there "Percy please you need to eat and get some sleep and start taking care of yourself again…" Percy looked away " there was nothing you could've done to save her so you need to stop blaming yourself because It wasn't your fault." Percy didn't say anything as he waited for Percy to scream or to cry but nothing happened he just stared blankly at the water
"it is my fault if-"
"don't Percy just stop. Don't degrade her memory like that she died a hero. she died saving everyone so that we could win she died so you could live. " Percy snapped his head to face Jason his sea-green eyes dull and unfocused fill with pain sadness and anger
"is that what we are just soldiers that our highest honor is dying? Is that all heroes are good for!?" Percy croaked his tone had a bitter edge to it
"that is not what I meant and you know it…" Jason sighed "I know you are hurting-"
"no right now I- I just feel numb" Percy whispered turning back to the sea the earlier flash of anger vanished as his body deflated "I- I don't know how I am going to live without her." Percy chocked Jason grabbed Percy's shoulders and turned him so they faced each other
"I know the road ahead is a long one especially for people like us… but I know you will pull though I know the pain will never truly go away it will lessen over time so Percy promise- promise Annabeth that you will live your life to the fullest… if you can't live your life for you then live it for Annabeth whose life ended too soon." Jason spoke with as much strength he could muster but his face betrayed him as tears streaming down his cheeks. He might not have known Annabeth for every long but he considered her a friend. There had been so much death and suffering in this war he wondered if piper died instead of Annabeth if he would be in the same state as Percy. He hated seeing Percy like this so broken so defeated, ever since he heard the name Percy Jackson and herd the stories he thought Percy was some untouchable hero that nothing could bring him down but traveling with him and getting to know him he realized Percy was still human just like him with the same need to protect his friend and with some the same insecurities when it came to their failures as leaders, they became friends so when Percy was at his worst he would stay by his side because he knew if their roles were reversed Percy would be there for him.
They must have sat there for hours as they both cried eventually Percy passed out from exhaustion Jason moved Percy to his bed so he would be more comfortable. Even in his sleep, Percy didn't relax his face still etched in pain and sadness Jason sighed he turned to leave the dirty cabin promising he would be back in a couple of hours to check on him and to be there when Percy woke up to show Percy he wasn't alone.
Stepping out to the harsh light of the afternoon sun Jason saw the waters of the lake and on long island sound, had calmed. it wasn't as choppy and stormy as before he wondered if Percy was one controlling the waves as he wallowed in his emotions he saw demigods, hunters, amazons, and nymphs doing their best to clean up the camp. The ground was still scorched and marred by the recent battle tents were scattered around the filed as many of the cabins were destroyed people moved around with forced purpose to move the debris to start the rebuilding of this camp. No one escaped the war unscathed and many were still dying in hospital tent the Apollo cambers set up they looked the worse for wear as many of them hadn't slept since the war ended running around treating everyone and doing surgeries and still caring for the rest of the camp.
"How is he?" a voice spoke beside him jumping slightly as he was forced out of his thoughts he turned to see the worried face of Hazel Levesque "sorry I didn't mean to scare you." She spoke quietly
"no, I – I was just lost in my thoughts what were you saying?" he asked politely
"how is Percy doing?" she spoke turning to face Cabin three's door as if she could see Percy sleeping and worn-out expression.
"Finally, asleep… he- he is hurting." Jason decided to say he didn't want to tell Hazel how broken and dead Percy looked. Hazel nodded not pushing for any more details
"how are you holding up?" she finally asked after a moment of silence
"fine" came the quick replied
"Jason it is ok not to be ok this war-hit everyone pretty hard you don't have-"
"I said I am fine" he snapped cutting off the daughter of Pluto, she frowned "sorry I didn't mean to snap at you I am just a little worn out…" he sighed, "I think I will take a nap" he turned and walked over to cabin one not waiting for a response. one of the only cabins that had the least amount of damage other campers had camped out in this cabin until their cabins could be rebuilt normally he wouldn't mind but now all he wanted was to be alone to lock himself up much as Percy had done. He sighed and flopped on to his cot but sleep didn't come easy.
Time skip
A month had passed since the war had ended things were starting to get back to normal the rebuilding process was fully underway and people's spirits were being lifted there were still some in the infirmary but most people were more or less back to normal. Jason stopped by Percy cabin and to see if the demigod was there not seeing any sign of him he headed off to the arena the only other structure that made it thought the battle mostly unscathed. As he neared the heard sounds of metal hitting against metal on closer inspection he saw Percy hacking practice dummies to pieces in this one mouth Percy made a complete turnaround he had built up muscle again and he didn't have the sickly aura around him anymore he got his tan back and his green eyes however not a bright as they used to be; they had the slight glow to them. Jason watched for a couple of minutes as Percy whirled around in precise and clear movements.
When all the dummies had been dealt with Percy capped his sword putting it back in his pocket and walked over to Jason
"hey." He spoke not seaming out of breath
"hey." Jason repeated, "you are looking better I see your lungs are also getting better since you are not breathing hard after the workout."
"Will says I still need time to recover fully before my lungs are 100% but I think if I eat any more ambrosia I will explode." He spoke giving Jason a small smile which Jason returned
"he fast-tracked your recovery?"
"hey since he knew I wouldn't stay still long enough for a 'proper' recovery time" Percy spoke they both chuckled "so did you need me for something or did you just come by to check on me?" Percy asked after a minute
"Chiron told me you are heading to your mom's later today and I was wondering if you wanted me to tag along?" Jason stated Percy raised an eyebrow but didn't comment
"no, I want to do this alone I have been gone for a long time and now I think it is time I go home and relax with my family." He spoke in a soft tone
"just like how you went alone to tell Annabeth's dad…" he didn't need to finish as Percy's face darkened remembering how he asked Nico to shadow travel him to San Francisco to break the bad news that Annabeth was dead and when he got back he disappeared in his cabin for three days.
"I wasn't alone and no I haven't talked to my mom since the Argo II … I think I made her worried enough about me." His voice trailed off Jason sighed
"you go do what you got to do but just know that we are here for you." Jason stated Percy gave a small smile and nodded
"Hazel and frank already told me the same thing even Piper and Leo offered to come to Manhattan with me."
"am I the last to hear of this? My Girlfriend and one of my friends were going to leave me to go with you?" Jason faked shocked hurt Percy laughed
"man, you are not good at sarcasm"
"I am too"
"no, you're not… but don't worry I think it time you might get better"
"shut up Jackson" Jason grumbled but they both had a smile on their faces. "what time were you thinking about leaving?" he asked as they fell into a comfortable silence
"after lunch" came Percy quick reply
"oh, and were you planning to say goodbye?" Jason asked Percy frowned and looked down at the ground no he wasn't planning on saying goodbye to anyone he was just going to leave and have Chiron break the news but of course most people already knew he was leaving "its fine dude I just hope you stay in contact because I don't think anyone can handle losing you right now." Percy gave a small nod his face a blank mask
"well I have to go finish packing " he stated running off towards his cabin.
Later Percy met Argus on the top of Half-blood hill to get a ride back into the city the ride was silent Percy just stared out the window and tapped his foot and drummed his fingers on his leg with nervous tension. On one hand, he was excited to be going home after almost a year away but then again he was nervous what would he say he didn't feel like he could completely explain everything that had happened without breaking down nor did he want to he didn't want to scare his mother he didn't want to burden her will all the horrors he had seen and experienced. The ride seems to take hours but also seemed to end all too soon before he knew it he was climbing out of the camps SUV and walking across the street to his mom's apartment building. He walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door he held up his hand to knock but hesitated after taking a deep breath he knocked. After a couple of agonizing minutes, the door open revealing his stepfather Paul Blofis Percy gave a weak tired smile Paul just stared wide-eyed. Percy shuffled on his feet and was about to say something when he was wrapped in a hug by the older man he dropped his bag and buried his face into his stepfather's chest.
"Paul, honey who is at the door?" came the voice of his mother Percy froze his breath caught
"Sally he's here he has come home!" he called back releasing Percy and stepping out to the way Percy looked up to see the shocked face of his mother
"hi mom." He spoke weakly she ran the rest of the way to the door almost knocking him over tears streaming down her face as she hugged him "I'm sorry I'm so sorry" he spoke into her shoulder
"you grew up." She cried pulling the hug apart but didn't let go looking him over as if checking for injurers or just making sure it was him. She notices that he was taller now and had more muscle he looked healthy but there was a deep sadness in his eyes. "what is wrong?" she says
"I'm tired mom." She spoke softly she brought him back into a hug
"I know sweetheart… your home now." She cried the stood there for several minutes finally she pulled part and whipped Percy's tears and lead him inside Paul grabbed Percy's bag and followed them inside.
The tree of them sat on the couch for half an hour just talking softly then Sally got up to get something for him to eat
"you ok son?" Paul asked, Paul wasn't his birth father but he acted like it without forcing it he helped get Percy into the school he was kind to his mother and understanding of Percy faults and why he disappeared for months at a time.
"Yeah, I'm getting there… we won" he spoke, "we won the war." Percy stated Paul gave him a side hug
"We are here for you" he spoke softly Percy appreciated that he didn't ask any question and just be there which Percy hated to say that was more than Poseidon did. Just then there was a screak cry coming from deeper in the apartment Percy froze his eyes widening. He was about to ask what it was when Paul grabbed his arm and lead him to the master bedroom there is one corner where the sound was coming from was a crib a light pink blanket moving wildly. Percy cautiously walked to the crib followed by Paul.
"Percy I want you to meet you baby sister Estelle" Paul stated picking the fussing child from the crib and trying to calm her down
"Percy she is not to replace you or anything… you are not loved any less- " Sally spoke quickly as she appeared in the doorway
"can I hold her?" he asked cutting off his mother's rambling Sally nodded Paul handed her over showing Percy where to put his hand the baby calmed down almost immaterially.
"wow, I wish I could get her to stop crying that fast." Paul chuckled light heartily
"hi Estelle I'm your big brother Percy." He spoke Estelle reached up to his face making gargling noise and making grabbing fists. Tears started to fall Percy's face as he smiled at his little sister "I will protect you nothing bad will happen." He whispered but both Paul and Sally heard that tears also in their eyes at the séance.
That night Percy was screaming and trashing in his sleep calling out for Annabeth, Paul rushed into Percy's bedroom to wake him up.
"Percy, Percy it's not real; your safe please wake up!" Paul calls trying to hold Percy down but Percy was a lot stronger them him Sally came in a few moments later with a Crying Estelle Percy's red-rimmed eyes snapped open at hearing his sister crying. His body is trembling and he was breathing hard Sally and Paul sat on either side of Percy.
Percy wasn't aware when Estelle was placed in his arms he cried as his mom rubbed his back soon Estelle stopped crying and Percy became aware of his surroundings holding his baby sister calmed him down seeing that she was asleep in his arms
"sorry." He croaked
"There is nothing you need to apologize for," Paul spoke softly neither of them asked but they somehow knew that Annabeth was gone they didn't know how but they could feel it. They didn't know what happened to Percy in the time he was gone but they knew it was bad Percy reminded Paul of a soldier returning from war and in reality that is was Percy was a solider one too young to be saving the world. Paul hated that Percy was the one protecting them so in a way he felt that anything he could do even if it was small to protect the kid he saw as a son he would without question; because he thought Percy didn't deserve all the things he had been given and he thought Percy was too good for this world. Everything he had been through he was still kind and funny either know his smile was worn and small.
Elsewhere
"Fury what is the meaning of this meeting?" Tony Stark aka Iron man huffed "please tell me there isn't another world-ending crisis we have to deal with I am starting to enjoy the downtime." It had been almost four months since the last almost world-ending fight the Avengers had to face and the team had been using the downtime to bond and learn more about being a team.
"and that is why I called this meeting all of you have become complacent so I have a mission for all of you." Fury stated
"Director Fury sir are you sending us out to do busywork?" Scott Lang aka Antman asked trying to be as respectful as posable because in honestly the spy scared him
"no this is not 'busy work'" fury clicked a button on a small remote and the room lights darken as the screen switched on reviling a picture of a teenage boy with raven black hair and startling sea-green eyes. "his name is Perseus Jackson I would like you to bring him in for questioning-"
"wait, wait why do you what us to kidnap a kid and why would you need all of us for that?" Sam Wilson aka flacon asked
"Sam is right I don't feel comfortable going out and capturing a kid." Steve Rogers aka Captain America stated a frown on his face others started to voice their opinions before fury slammed a stack of files on the table and gave the group an irritated look
"I was going to explain the situation to you if you would listen." He hissed when no one spoke he pushed the stack of folders into the center of the table Natasha Romanova Aka Black widow reached out to grab some and handed one to Clint Barton aka Hawkeye " Perseus Jackson is 17 years old and has been on SHILD's watch list since he was 10 years old as a suspected terrorist."
"a 10-year-old terrorist come on Nick that is a little hard to believe," Tony stated with the wave of his hand ignoring the glare he is revising.
"if I may continue." He asked sarcastically when no one spoke he took as his cue to continue " He was kicked out of over six schools over the course of six years some of those being military academies. in his four-grade year he dumped his class into the shark tank at an aquarium in fifth grade he blew up his school bus with an old war cannon and in seventh grade blowing up his school's gymnasium. Which later he has been cleared of all charges and was never questioned for any of the incidents. When he was 10 he disappeared and was accused of kidnapping his mother he was spotted falling from the St Louis arch after it blows up and somehow survived by landing in the water which should be impossible since the arch is at least five hundred feet from the edge of the Mississippi River, let alone surviving a fall from that Hight. He was also found fleeting the explosion of a greyhound bus. Then seen at a gunfight with a man on the beach where he was cleared of all charges as repots stated the mysterious man kidnapped him and his mother but neither was questioned and the 'kidnapper ever found. Afterward his stepfather one Gabe Ugliano the one that initially accused his stepson as a troubled young teen disappeared and is now presumed dead." He paused "Since then Perseus Jackson has been disappearing during the summer and some months during the school year only to be spotted across the country and even a crossed the world. Without having any travel documents or records that he left the state" When he finished the room was silent some reading the information for themselves in the manila folders others stared at the picture of the smiling teen
"so… you want us to kidnap this 17-year-old kid so you can ask him some questions?" Scott asked breaking the silence
"I think I might like this kid." Clint started with an uneasy smile as he read all the funny things he has done at school.
"but it says here he had disappeared 9 months ago and why are you bring this up now?" Bruce Banner aka the hulk asked flipping thought the thin file.
"As of two days ago he reappeared at his mother's apartment," he stated clicking a bottom the picture changed to his mother hugging him in the hallway both her and her new husband had tears in their eyes they couldn't see Jackson's face as it was buried in his mom's shoulder on a duffle bag carelessly tossed to the floor.
"Does his mom know where he disappears too?" Steve asked frowning at the picture
"no, she does know something about the trips but other than that nothing." Nat stated
"we did interrogate her and her new husband Paul Blofis. all the times he has disappeared she has not put in a missing person's report she seemed to be hiding some information about his disappears but she was telling the truth that she didn't know where he goes and she also seemed worried about her son." Fury spoke
"what I want you to do is find out as much as you can about him, is he a potential threat if given the opportunity I want you to bring him in for questioning are there any more questions… good, I want to be kept informed of any progress." And with that fury walked out to the room
"ok so what the plan?" Tony asked after the director was out of earshot
I hope you like this new story. I know I change his age starting all of this when he was a little younger it is for the story.