Second Chance (Percy Jackson Chaos Theory Fanfic)

Wisdom From Annabeth

Percy POV

The Seven of us had a good talk. We were as good of friends as usual, which made me happy. We'd only just gotten back together, and yet we were already creating memories to last a lifetime.

Now I was by myself, sitting alone on a bench, doing nothing but thinking. The sun was setting, casting a soft orange glow over the camp. The first constellation of the night, Zoe's constellation the Huntress, was visible beneath the layer of sunlight. A slight breeze rustled my dark hair over my eyes. The ocean lapped gently on the shore in front of me. I leaned forward, my elbows on my legs, chin in my hands.

So much had happened in the past two weeks that it was hard to keep up with things. I had come back after five years, learned the shocking truth, found and defeated Void, and reconciled with my friends.

Images from the last five years flashed through my mind. Void corrupting minds, my death, waking up from darkness to see Chaos for the first time, his gift of life again, offering me the chance to be his heir, accepting the offer. Going around the universe, defeating enemies and destroying evil. Meeting Tristel the griffin and becoming her friend. The mission to Camp Half-Blood. And everything that had happened since then.

In some ways, Void hadn't hurt me. He had helped me. I had more friends than ever before, and the friends I already had were closer to me than they had been in years past. In that way, I thanked Void.

An added bonus was the fact that I had cool powers, although I still couldn't do much more than my powers with water since the fight with Void.

That was an idea. I had time right now; I could practice my powers and see how far I could go.

I put my hand out and stared at it in concentration, hoping that I could get somewhere. Nothing. I couldn't feel the normal surge of strength that coursed through me before I used my powers. I couldn't feel the normal tingling in my hands. I couldn't feel anything that would let me know I was regaining my strength.

A slight rustle to my left disturbed me and caused me to clench my hand. Annabeth appeared at my side. "Hey, Seaweed Brain. Doing some late night thinking?"

I sighed and rubbed my face. "Sort of." I paused. "Actually, I was trying to see if I could create any of that light I made when I was fighting Void."

"Any luck?" she asked, moving behind me and placing her hands on my shoulders. Her fingers moved in circular motion on my back. "You look stressed."

"I've been trying to get something for the past few days," I explained, "but nothing seems to work. I just- I just don't know how to do anything these days, Annabeth. Nothing I do is working. I just can't get enough strength to get my power back. How am I supposed to go back to working for Chaos when I can barely do more than lift a drop of water?"

Annabeth moved around the bench and sat beside me, her fingers lacing through mine. Her gray eyes were serious as she gazed at me. "Percy, the strength that you're looking for right now is the strength of power. Don't you remember what Thalia said to you during the fight?" She placed her other hand on my chest. "Power may be strength, Percy, but it's not the only strength. Love and loyalty are also strengths, even more so than pure strength. Love and loyalty are stronger than strength, Percy. Just remember that. Focus on what's inside your heart before you focus on your power instead of focusing on the power that's inside your heart."

My eyes held hers. "This is why I'm grateful you're a daughter of Athena. You always seem to know what to say."

"Percy." Annabeth dropped her grip on me and placed her hands on either side of my cheeks, forcing me to watch her. "I would have said that whether I was a daughter of Athena or not. Besides, just because I'm a daughter of Athena doesn't mean I'm going to be wise. Sometimes the wisest people are the dumbest, and sometimes the dumbest people are the wisest."

"I love you," I whispered, letting my forehead rest on hers. "Somehow your advice always lifts my spirits. One of the many reasons you're mine."

Annabeth smiled. "I love you, too, Percy." She let go of my face and rested her head on my shoulder, watching the ripples wash up against the sand. "Perhaps you should try again. This time, think about the power in your heart instead of the power in your hands."

My fingers spread apart to form a half-sphere. I gritted my teeth and thought about Annabeth's words. For a single instant, a small flame sprang to life in my hands, but it died a second later.

"Better," Annabeth praised. "But I don't think you were concentrating hard enough. Try again."

The same thing happened.

"Any other ideas?" I sighed. My wings cushioned my head as I leaned back.

Annabeth laughed softly. "I love how when you always ask me that, you expect me to give you an answer." She wrapped her arm around me. "Sometimes I don't have an answer, you know. Sometimes you need to figure things out for yourself."

I glanced over at her. "Are you saying I should do that this time?"

"Not necessarily. But you know, I won't always be around to give you advice. Perhaps you should think of something you could do without my help."

"Hmm." That idea was interesting. The least I could do was try, and if nothing I thought of worked, then Annabeth could help me out again.

The first thing I decided was to follow along the idea of power in my heart, not my hands That had had the best progress so far.

The power in my heart. What was the power in my heart? My fight with Void entered my mind, how when he had been threatening to kill my friends, that had been my strongest moment. How rage, a rage of love, had caused me to destroy Void when no one else could.

Athena was right.

My fatal flaw really was loyalty, but it wasn't a flaw because it was a weakness; it was a flaw because it was a strength, one that almost got me killed.

Memories from before the fight joined the ones already floating around my mind. Good times with Annabeth, and Thalia, and Jason. Good times with the Seven, and Nico, and especially Annabeth.

As I thought about my friends, my fingers spread apart to reveal a large circle of glowing flames. I smiled. More memories rushed through my mind, and the flame enlarged, spreading outward.

"You've done it, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth laughed, hugging me to her and watching the fire flicker in the dusk. "You've really done it."

My power was my friends.