The Path to Elysium

A blue coated poodle

"So, I've been thinking..." Percy called above the dissonant sounds of the battlefield.

"Don't you think we're a little busy right now?" Annabeth sliced at a Keres with her knife. "Do you ever run out of words?" Although there was a curt edge to her words, her eyes twinkled at Percy, and she smiled at him affectionately.

Percy swung Riptide around and buried it deep within one of the death spirits. She twitched and gnashed her teeth in a last growl of contempt then collapsed into a shower of gold dust. "Never, Wise Girl." He caught Annabeth's eye and winked at her. "Hey, watch out." Annabeth ducked and Percy slashed at the monster behind her.

The arena was littered with the shining remains of the many Keres that the couple had already killed. The deep brown of the dirt of the arena floor was a stark juxtaposition to the glimmering dust the dozens of already deceased enemies. Besides Annabeth and Percy, the only living things for miles around were the rapidly approaching Keres coming to avenge the deaths of those the demigods had already slaughtered. Annabeth frowned at the complexity of the situation. According to myth, the Keres were attracted to battlefields and would hover about, searching for wounded and dying men. She wondered if the same applied to dying Keres.

"Anyway, I was thinking we should get a dog."

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain? A dog? You're thinking about that now?" Her grey eyes flashed in that familiar way as incredulity scrawled itself across her face.

"Yeah. I've been missing Mrs O'Leary lately. I think she's been hanging with Nico. And I just thought maybe we should get our own dog. You like Mrs O'Leary, right? And you were so good with Cerberus, too. And wait, didn't your dad have a Dobermann?" One of the death daemon lunged at Percy.

"Percy, that was years ago, and Cerberus was the three headed dog of the underworld that we had to distract in order to escape death. I hardly think you can judge my dog-sitting skills from one encounter with a monstrous dog we had to manipulate to save the world when I was, what, twelve? That was nearly half a decade ago. I barely see Mrs O'Leary and I can't even remember the name of the Dobermann."

A Keres reached out her arm and snagged at Annabeth's t-shirt, tearing it slightly. She cursed and slashed at its limb before plunging her blade into the creature's heart. Its grim eyed stare went blank as it died. She readjusted her grip on the hilt of her knife.

Percy kicked at an approaching monster. It stumbled into several others giving the son of Poseidon a few seconds to assess the situation and come to a decision as to which monster to kill first. His sword shimmered in the air in a flurry of movements. When he paused to wipe the sweat from his brow, the area immediately surrounding him was clear of Keres, allowing him a few precious seconds to attempt to come up with a compelling argument that would convince his girlfriend to coalesce to their adopting a puppy together.

"I just think it'd be a good idea. C'mon Wise Girl, tell me I'm wrong." He raked a hand through his dishevelled jet black hair, letting Annabeth catch a glimpse of the tattoos there. As always, his hair was sightly swept to the side, as if he had just been on a walk to the beach. His sea-green eyes flashed mischievously at Annabeth and she felt herself succumbing to his charm. Piper had once said that when Percy pleaded, he looked 'like a cute baby seal that need help'. Annabeth had laughed at that, and although it was true that he smelled like the sea, and tasted like the sea, the seal resemblance ended there. But he was as cute as any seal pup.

She felt a smile tug at her lips and although she rolled her eyes, her gaze reasserted itself and locked back onto Percy's own before it was once again drawn away by the sight of an approaching enemy.

"Watch out!" Annabeth threw her knife at it and the blade buried itself into the creature's back. It snarled viciously before collapsing and scattering to the winds. The knife clattered gently to the ground.

Annabeth stood still for a moment, one hand at her hip, the other at her temple. She raked a hand through her hair, tugging out the hair tie and as her blonde curls fell loose, a confetti of gold dust rained down and tumbled over her shoulders too. Her shirt, crisp and new in the morning, was now covered in stains of sweat and blood and the remains of deceased Keres as well as scattered with holes.

For a moment, Percy just admired her. He let his gaze wash over the way her hair fluttered slightly in the wind, glittering in the late afternoon sun and smiled at what little he could see of her beaded necklace. He smiled, and entwined his fingers across the beads around his own neck. Soon, the both of them would be receiving another one of those clay beads. He absentmindedly wondered what the next design would be. Maybe, unfortunately, a tribute to another deceased hero. Another hard earned victory against a centuries old enemy, perhaps? But it could be something nice, something wonderful, like a puppy.

Percy had spent years grappling with ADHD and he knew that he needed to align his thoughts, that it was particularly important during the midst of a battle, but he let his mind wander for a few more seconds. He imagined being in New Rome, arm in arm with Annabeth as they laughed and chased after a puppy. He started thinking about dog breeds. For some reason, he imagined a poodle. It wasn't that they were his favourite kind of dog but he did have a certain affinity for them. On his first quest, a poodle had given Annabeth, Grover and himself advice to return it to its owners and claim reward money that did save their life. And the mist had made Mrs O'Leary appear as a poodle to mortals during a test once. Nevertheless, he decided that whatever breed the dog would be, it'd most certainly have a blue collar.

Another creature approached behind Percy. He felt, rather than heard, its footsteps and he spun around, savagely killing it. He realigned his thoughts, picked up Annabeth's knife from the floor and flung it up in the air towards her. The knife seemed to loop across the sky ever so slowly. Too slowly.

Percy was still grinning at the idea of dog in a blue collar with a matching blue leash. He vaguely wondered if poodle hair could be dyed blue. But, suddenly his eyes shifted. The look of mirth in them gone instantly, replaced by an intense fear. A vicious Keres had suddenly risen up behind Annabeth. She had her hands outstretched before her to catch the knife but it was too late. The creature raked an arm across her back and she cried out. The sound hurt Percy. It was a scream of pure pain and anguish. He roared and threw Anaklusmos. It soared through the monster and clattered to the ground in a shower of gold. But it was too late.

Percy ran towards Annabeth. "No." The word fell from his lips as he cradled her to him. "No way. Wise Girl. We promised we'd never leave each other, remember? When we were in the underworld. We promised. You promised. You can't die. Not now." A tear fell from Percy's eyes and splattered on Annabeth's cheek. She gave a mirthless smile. It was another reminder how alike he was to the sea. The same tumultuous nature and scent of sea spray and salt.

"Percy." Her voice came out raspy and her breaths started to hitch. Her boyfriend fumbled in his pocket for ambrosia but they both knew that it was too late. "Promise me you won't come after me. Swear it. On the Styx."

"What?" Percy's mind flittered from one thought to the next. He couldn't concentrate. All he could do was focus on Annabeth's eyes, trying to remember the exact shade of grey they were.

"Percy, swear it! Let me die. Don't come after me. Don't kill yourself!" Even as it started to break, her voice was so insistent, and Percy, helpless to prevent her death, repeated absentmindedly after her, wanting to uphold her dying wish no matter how much it pained him.

"I swear, on the River Styx that I won't kill myself. That I won't come after you." All he could think about was the future they would never have. He would grow old while she remained in Elysium, preserved in her youth for all eternity.

"I love you, Percy Jackson. I'll wait for you. We will reach the Isles of the Blest together."

"No, no, no." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Annabeth's lips one final time and felt her life force start to ebb away. She tasted the salt of his kiss before her heart stopped. "I love you, Wise Girl," he breathed as he lay her head to rest in the dirt. He let the tears stream down his face.

Riptide appeared in his back pocket and Percy screamed, throwing it as far as he could, not caring as it tumbled into the dust. He swore, letting the words desecrate the air, pleading with every deity he knew to bring Annabeth back. But there was nothing to be done. The roar of blood filled his ears, blocking out his own wails of anguish and he cried as he rocked Annabeth's dead body back and forth, wishing and hurting.

Truly alone.

For the first time in his life, Percy Jackson had run out of words.