Annabeth POV:
The ball gets closer and closer, the laughing getting louder, and hope jumping in my chest. He kept his promise. Percy is alive. And close.
"What in the name of..." Tartarus says, looking up at the ball.
It crashes into the ground and sends everyone flying. When the dust and smoke clear, Percy is standing in a small crater, Riptide drawn and glaring at Tartarus.
"Hey, how's it going?" Percy asks, twirling his sword. Everyone watches him with hope in their eyes.
Tartarus growls. "You died."
"Yeah, well, I'm back."
"How? You released more energy than a primordial."
"I had a choice. And I chose to come back. After all," He looks at me and smiles.
"I had a promise to keep." He turns back and looks Tartarus in the eyes. "You ready to die?"
Tartarus sneers. "I could ask the same to you."
Percy laughs and says, "You aren't gonna kill me. I'd like to see you try, though."
Tartarus growls and rushes at him, trying to scratch him with his claws. Percy dodges and blocks, not attacking back.
Tartarus gets more and more angry, and his attacks get faster. Eventually, Percy looks like he's fighting off a whirlwind.
Tartarus grabs onto Percy's sword and looks him in the eye, angry.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" He growls.
"The prophecy said it would only take one hit."
Tartarus yells and yanks Riptide from Percy's grasp. He throws it behind him and lunges into him.
Percy sidesteps quickly and turns to face Tartarus, only to see him rushing at me.
"NO!" Percy yells.
Tartarus holds me by the back of the neck, facing me towards Percy.
"Say goodbye to your precious 'Wise Girl,' Perseus," Tartarus says as he starts to try and stab me with his claws.
Percy teleports and slices off Tartarus's hand. He screams, and I collapse onto the ground, hitting my head.
The last thing I see before I black out is Percy's hand going through Tartarus's chest.
-Timeskip-
I wake up in the infirmary and look around. Will is there, and breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees me open my eyes.
"Thank goodness. You hit your head pretty hard. How are you feeling?" He asks.
I sit up and hold my head. "Oof, not great. What happened?"
Will looks at me and says, "Percy beat Tartarus."
"How?"
Will takes a deep breath. "He tore his heart out of his chest."
I look at him. "Really?"
"Yeah. He crushed it in his hand, and the chains trapping all of us disappeared. It was weird."
I shake my head and stand up unsteadily. "Am I good to leave the infirmary?"
Will nods, and I leave to go find Percy. I pass a lot of my friends on the way.
Jason and Piper say hi and bye. They're planning on leaving camp and living out their lives together now that the wars are over.
Leo and Calypso are preparing to go back to the Waystation. The Hunters are already gone, and the Romans are marching out of camp through the portal.
I pass Nico as he heads to the infirmary, and he tells me where Percy is.
I walk to the beach and see Percy sitting on a picnic blanket. I sit down next to him and give him a kiss.
He laughs and returns it. "Hey Wise Girl. I'm glad you're okay."
I lean my head on his shoulder and ask, "Why would I bot be okay?"
"You uh... you spent a week in the infirmary."
"Oh."
"Yeah..."
I shake my head. "Doesn't matter know. What's the picnic basket for?"
"One last picnic at camp half-blood."
"What do you mean, one last picnic? Are you leaving camp?"
He laughs. "Technically, yes. The war is over, so bow I have to finish a deal I made with the gods."
"What deal?"
"I... I will become the 15th Olympian."
"Oh. Wow."
"Yeah. We have to leave soon, and once I become an Olympian, I have to leave this life at camp behind."
I grasp his hand tightly. "Are you going to leave me behind?"
He shakes his head and kisses me. "Of course not, Annabeth. I would never. Now let's eat."
We eat and enjoy the time together, appreciating the lake and camp. Eventually, we finish, and Percy stands up, dusting off his cloak and extending a hand to me.
"Well, Annabeth?"
"Well what, Seaweed Brain?"
"Qeve been through a lot in our time together. But now, the hardest challenge yet. Will you come with me, and stay with me forever?"
I grasp his hand and pull myself up.
"Of course," I whisper to him as I kiss him. He grins, and we flash away, to the crowning of a new Olympian, to our wedding, and to our future. We will get through it all, together forever.
-Big Timeskip-
I lean my head on Percy's shoulder, looking over the dock at our twin children, who are playing in the water.
"Can you believe it?" I ask Percy.
"Believe what?" He asks.
"That after 11 years, we finally get this moment?"
He laughs. "It is a bit crazy, isn't it? But yes, I do believe it."
I snuggle closer into him, grasping his hand with mine.
"I love you, Seaweed Brain."
"And I love you, Wise Girl."
(A/N: I'm back from my own camp, and I finished the story. This chapter, in my personal opinion, is strange because there's not much left of the story to tell, so I think it feels rushed and drawn out at the same time. As always, thank you so much for reading!)
Essence POV:
I smile and float into the sky, trying to burn the scene into my brain. It's nice to see another world where I end up with Annabeth. I wonder what the next world has in store for me.