L O S T {Percy Jackson and the Avengers Cross-Over}

chapter 2 | T H E N E W S

A/N - as promised, chapter 2! more information at the end of the chapter!
look at song above - it's what i listened to whole typing this chapter! it's a great song, and one of my long-lasting favorites c:
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CHIRON P.O.V

Chiron trotted into the infirmary, his hooves making gentle clanking notices against the wooden floors.
His white hide was lit up by the light of the lanterns and his dark brown hair and mane glinted glossily. All in all he appeared an ethereal figure, untouched by time but weighed down by sorrow.
The centaur slowly made his way to the cot of the broken boy, stopping to check the condition of some other campers, or drop an encouraging word on the way - anything to delay this talk. Eventually, he reached the bedside of Percy Jackson.
He was old, so old, but seeing a hero once so great brought so low broke even his hardened heart.
The boy's unruly raven hair was plastered to his forehead with a sheen of sweat. His shirt had been removed and bandages wound their way around his stomach and abdomen, shielding the view of some of the new, raw scars that savaged his tanned skin. His right leg was held utterly immobile and completely encased within a cast. His face was even worse.
His closed eyes had dark bags under them, and a scar cut its way along his left cheek - bearing much resemblance the the one Luke Castellan once bore. Creases lined his forehead and his face in itself held the expression of one who was tired. Tired of living. Of breathing. Of existing, even.
Two other people sat at his bedside, both sharing his black-as-night hair and grief-stricken expressions.
Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo had a striking resemblance towards each other. Both had a propensity and fondness for the color black. Both had some semblance of a skull on them - Nico with his ring, and Thalia with her shirt. Both were worried sick about their only surviving cousin.
As Chiron stopped beside them and stared down at the shattered man, only one thought crossed his mind: The world is so cruel to destroy the best of us.

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THALIA P.O.V

Thalia barley glanced up at Chiron as the centaur stopped beside them. She didn't have the strength to care much about propriety or respect at the moment - though Chiron had never been a stickler for the whole 'bow to your teacher' sort of gig.
Her attention was focused on her cousin, Percy Jackson. Her heart felt like it had been ripped and mangled into a thousand little pieces but she knew it would be so much worse for Percy, with his fatal flaw amplifying every little bit of grief that already pricked his heart.
The boy suddenly opened his eyes, staring emotionlessly at the ceiling.
It hurt her heart to see him like this. She remembered how he used to be - vibrant, alive, always willing to be the one to make a fool of himself or break the awkward silence in order to make somebody else feel better. None of that seemed to exist in him anymore.
"Chiron," Percy said, his voice thin and scratchy, like smoke had gotten into his lungs or something.
"Percy. How are you?"
"Wounds'll take a little while to heal. Can't use nectar or ambrosia - poison or some pegasus crap like that." He replied in the same, awful voice.
Thalia watched Chiron out of the corner of her eye, wondering what was bothering the centaur so much and what he seemed to hesitant to say. It was unlike Chiron to hide the truth. The guy thought honesty was the solution to everything, for some reason.
"Percy, it-it's about your parents. Sally and Paul." The horse-man stumbled over his words.
What's up with him? Thalia thought. Usually the dude's as eloquent as a snake. Ugh, I hate snakes. Stupid things with their weird scales and no arms and - woah! Stupid ADHD! Always getting me off track, she thought to herself grumpily.
"They've disappeared." Chiron finally blurted out, a slight hesitation in his voice as if he was wondering whether to be upset or afraid. Afraid of how Percy would react.
"I know. They've long been gone from this world, Chiron." Percy sighed, staring at the ceiling still.
"H-how did you know?" He seemed astonished that the boy had figured it out.
Oh, Chiron, you should know better then to underestimate him by now!
"They died right in front of me."
"Oh."
'Oh,' she thought with a sigh. You're really not helping here, Chiron!
Beside her, Nico stirred. "Dead? They can't be! I didn't feel their spirits cross over!"
"Tartarus is more powerful than Hades, Nico. He could conceal something like that very easily if he wanted to." Percy stated plainly.
"I'm sorry, my boy. For any hero to endure what you have is cruel," Chiron broke in suddenly, his voice like honeyed thorns, his own grief apparent.
"The world doesn't care what is cruel. It just takes those things it can and breaks them. Crushes them down into tiny little pieces of anger and sorrow, till there's nothing left but an empty shell," Percy ground out, his beautiful eyes gleaming with unshed tears.
"The gods want to see you three. You need to go to Olympus as soon as possible. And Thalia," Chiron added, looking her way.
"Yeah?" She replied with a bored sigh.
"You'll have to drive. Argus is out of commission for the moment and the pegasus are either injured or helping with repairs, as is Mrs. O'Leary."
"Right. Okie-dokie, boys - let's go," Thalia said, a weak grin on her face.
Percy sat up slowly, wincing every so often as his leg jostled or his wounds stretched. "Yeah. Let's go."

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-unedited-

so, it's done! what'd you guys think of the story so far? i know it seems pretty cliché right now, but that plot twist's coming! :D
i'm sorry this chapter is so short - it was sort of rushed, but i'm still pretty happy with it.
the next chapter will have some action in it - bloody fighting, deaths, near-deaths - you know, all the stuff that makes fanfiction worth reading.

please vote and comment - i'd really like some feedback!
thank you to everyone who has voted so far! it's what motivated me to update <3

{published - 5/9/16}

{final word count [including author's notes] - 1,082 words}