A/N: You know how in the HoO book series, Percy's POV is in the third person? I thought it was weird. So I didn't do that.
Percy is a minor character here. I'll leave any implications of minor character first person narration to the reader.
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3. We want to hold the gods accountable for the promises they have not kept following the Titan War:
Claim all demigods by the time they turn thirteen years of age.
Bring all demigods to a safe location to be trained.
Pardon all peaceful Titans, including Calypso.
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I arrived at Mount Olympus's elevator. I was with one new friend, Lou Ellen, and two old friends, Grover and Anaklusmos. The latter old friend was in my front pocket. I had one goal in mind: I was going to rescue Annabeth, Reyna, and Nico. Life without friends wasn't worth living.
"It's a straightforward mission," I told Grover and Lou Ellen. "It's going to be okay."
Grover put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Over time he'd developed an elf-like glimmer in his eyes, horns long enough to fight a mountain goat, and a strong but nimble physique.
The new elevator took five minutes, half a second per floor, which according to my calculations was too long. I stared at the floor as my nerves twisted my gut. Annabeth had told me that the elevator was relatively slow (compared to other forms of magic) for safety reasons. She said it was improper for heroes to save the world only to die in an elevator mishap.
The three of us were too nervous to speak. After two hundred seconds of dead silence, the elevator started to loop "It's Raining Men" for the rest of the ride, so I guess the elevator tunes hadn't improved since Annabeth had designed Mount Olympus. I think I've made that joke before but I have brain damage because of Juno.
When we stepped out at the six hundredth floor, three old hags appeared in front of us. Their aura of power was overwhelming. I averted my gaze.
"Dread it, run from it, Fate arrives all the same," said the least wrinkly hag.
The lady on the right said, "Clotho, quit quoting Thanos. It's such a meme and it isn't dramatic anymore. All you do is watch Infinity War over and over. Don't you have threads to weave?"
Clotho turned to the middle hag. "Lachesis, help me out. This went much better with his girlfriend."
"I'm not the one stuck in a fish hook. Don't look at me."
Fish hook? I thought. Then I saw it. The oldest one had her sock caught in a giant, novelty size fish hook.
I'd never heard them speak before, but they seemed so nonchalant, which surprised me. I'd expected them to be all mysterious and stuff.
"That's right, Perseus Jackson," said Clotho. "Like the other gods, we've adopted the customs of our host country, thus removing all dramatic tension from our appearances. This is America. Do you like that song? It's by Childish Gambino. My money's more on 'Black' by Dave."
"Clotho, you're Greek. That's very insensitive."
"Well, I'm giving these wonderful artists a platform! Anyway, this one's mind is chaotic compared to the mind of his girlfriend."
"Which girlfriend?"
"The one with blond hair, you insufferable hag!"
The wrinkliest one ignored the others to address me. "You have been in two book series and you've never really had to face your fatal flaw," said the oldest one.
I racked my brain to try to remember what book she was talking about because I sure hadn't read it. Then I remembered that our dear old Uncle Rick had transcribed my adventures and sold them as fiction even though I'd specifically said it wasn't a made-up story, but someone had still filed it as "Fantasy fiction" in the Library of Congress. I wonder who did that.
Then I racked my brain to figure out which one was the oldest, but I just couldn't remember her name. The Fates were, like, super important in Greek mythology and stuff, but there weren't a ton of myths with their great deeds. They were just kind of in the background for most of the time.
"'Just kind of in the background!'" squealed Clotho. "Unbelievable! I'm the reason you were born, Perseus!"
"Uh, thanks," I said. I thought about how my dad cheated on his wife to have me. I thought about how my mom had stayed in an abusive relationship for years to keep me safe from monsters. Heck, I thought about all my friends who'd died painful deaths when they were still little kids. None of those things would've happened without her.
The old one shook her head. "The ungrateful, spiteful imbecile can't remember my name. I am Atropos!"
"Of course," I said. "How could I forget?"
"He won't remember her name tomorrow," whispered Clotho.
"He's already forgotten," her friend whispered back. They snickered.
"You will face your fatal flaw, Perseus Jackson," said Atropos, the most professional one. "Beware your weaknesses. Remember your strengths. Only you can prevent the fall of the gods."
"Wait, can't you also prevent the fall of the gods?" I asked.
"Stupid boy," muttered Lachesis.
"You can make a horse out of sea foam, but you can't make it learn," said Clotho sadly.
I said, "I don't think that's a saying."
"You can make a boy, but you can't give it an intellect?" whispered Lachesis.
"Well, I could've," said Clotho. "But I just didn't."
Atropos told me, "Either you let Annabeth die or you kill her. I recommend letting her die. Much easier. But if you mess up the first time, you have your sword."
I ignored the you-should-kill-your-girlfriend advice. "Where's Annabeth?" I asked. "Why do I constantly have to save the world?"
"She's adrift through space and time, but the pull of Olympus will bring her to you in the next five minutes or so, right where we're standing. If you grab her by the hand, the spell can be broken."
"Wait. Did you say that if I rescue her, the world will end?"
"If you rescue any of them, but especially Annabeth. Does that make sense? That's the prophecy. Annabeth knows it. It goes, 'If you are rescued by a friend/ Then life as we know it shall end."
I said, "Well. The end of the world complicates this rescue mission."
Lou Ellen asked, "What about Reyna and Nico?"
"If you let Annabeth die, Reyna and Nico will turn up at Camp Half-Blood unharmed. The world will be unharmed."
I said, "Well, what if I save Reyna?"
"He's an idiot," Lachesis told Clotho. Clotho snickered.
I said, "Hey, maybe I'm stupid, but I'm not deaf, you know. "
Lachesis blanched. I felt pretty good about that.
Atropos said, "This is about your ability to destroy the world or to let one of your friends go. Save any one of them and the world as we know it will end. However...in the following minutes you may find that only Annabeth is within reach."
My knees almost buckled. "Well." My voice cracked. I cursed the stupid gods. Wasn't that stuff supposed to stop when puberty was over? "I'm not Annabeth's friend. I'm her boyfriend."
"Yes, that's a perfect excuse. When the world as we know it ends because you rescued your girlfriend, I'm sure the others will be perfectly satisfied with that explanation," said Clotho.
I looked between the hags. "You're Fate. You know everything. What's going to happen?"
As one, all three Fates said, "You must choose."
I blinked and they were gone.
Choose. The Fates had told me to choose. Was that ironic? I couldn't tell. I never did get a hang of what irony was, exactly.
I felt like I was drowning in the earth again, getting toyed with for the amusement of gods. I remembered Annabeth's mother, Athena, telling me that the most dangerous weaknesses were the ones that were good in moderation. Now I'd actually have to come face-to-face with my fatal flaw. I would either have to choose Annabeth or I would have to choose all of Western civilization. I wondered how Athena would've felt about that.
I fidgeted with my hands. I wiped the cold sweat on my jeans. No one had warned me about this moment. No one had prepared me. Would I really be able to look into Annabeth's eyes and let her die? I braced myself for the worst.
I looked at Grover. We had grown up together too. His goatee had grown into a full, thick beard (which I was secretly jealous of). He was a Cloven Elder. He didn't say anything, but I knew that he would support me no matter what I chose.
Deep down, I suppose we both knew what I would choose.
I looked toward my new friend. Lou Ellen pursed her lips and gave me an awkward two thumbs up. You got this.
One minute went by. Two. Three. Sweat beaded on my forehead.
I wasn't sure how she would appear. Would Annabeth, like, materialize out of nowhere?
Maybe I should just go downstairs to the lobby to avoid the temptation. Then I remembered Annabeth would die without my help. My knees turned to Jell-O.
Lou Ellen stood up straight. "Hey, the Hera statue! The magic is shifting by the base..."
I imagined Annabeth's reaction if I saved her. She'd be disappointed. I imagined Annabeth's reaction if I let her die. She'd be horrified, maybe a little betrayed. We'd practically grown up together. She'd been my first kiss. I couldn't just let her go. Could I?
Annabeth materialized. I made my decision.
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