Tyrant King - A Percy Jackson FanFic

Chapter 34

Percy strode into his family's bedroom. When Estelle saw him, she giggled, "Look, Mommy! It's Percy."
Percy swooped her into a hug and spun her around. Sally and Paul walked out of the bathroom. Sally smiled, "Hey, honey."
Percy hugged his mom and his step-dad. Then he pulled away and said, "Whatever you do, don't come out of your rooms today."
Sally frowned, "Why not?"
"Because the demigods are coming to fight me today, and I don't want any of you getting hurt."
Sally smiled sadly, "Okay, we won't."
Percy smiled gratefully and walked out. He headed in the direction of his room. It was time to don his skull war helmet once more. 

***

Thalia left Annabeth by the throne room door. In Manhatten below them, monsters and demigods fought one another. The gods watched on, not allowed to intervene. Thalia hugged Annabeth and said, "I'll wait out here. Don't die."
Annabeth grinned, "Not planning on it."
She turned and walked into the throne room. Inside, Percy lounged on his throne. He was wearing his full battle armor, that skull helmet sitting on the arm of the throne. Theos Dolofonos was propped up against the side of the throne. Percy looked up when she walked in. He smirked, "So she returns."
"Is there a particular reason that you're not fighting with your army?" Annabeth asked. She had been counting on it, but she still wasn't sure why he wasn't fighting. He shrugged, "I knew you would come. You are the fated Owl of prophecy, after all."
He glanced down at her, "It would appear you have no weapon, unless you're hiding one underneath your breastplates."
"I have a weapon," Annabeth promised. Percy sneered, "Good. I will kill you with your own blade."
Annabeth snorted, "Oh please. If you were going to kill me you would've done it when you found out about the prophecy."
His eyes narrowed. He knew she was right. She smirked at him. He slowly rose to his feet, picking up Theos Dolofonos and his helmet. He placed the helmet on his head with one hand and stalked over to Annabeth. He raised his sword, growling, "I've had enough of you."
Faster than lightning, Annabeth pulled Riptide from her pocket, uncapping it just in time to meet Percy's strike. His eyes flashed, "That sword belongs to me!"
He made a grab for it, but Annabeth jumped out of his reach. He growled again and pounced, slashing his sword in an upward strike. Annabeth parried his strike. On and on the fight went. Strike after strike. Parry after parry. Percy's movements were so swift, Annabeth struggled to keep up. She managed to meet or dodge all of his strikes, and his annoyance was becoming clearer and clearer. He swiped at her feet, and she danced out of the way. He swiped at her head, she brought Riptide up to meet his infernal sword. 
"You have to stop Percy," Annabeth said. Percy didn't answer, he just came at her with renewed strength. He was faster, fought harder. 
"Soon you're going to do something that you will regret. And you will have to live with that regret for the rest of your immortal life."
He knocked Riptide from her hand and kicked her in the chest. With an oomph, she slid across the marble ground. Percy strode over to her and pointed Theos Dolofonos at her head. She closed her eyes and waited for him to kill her. Then she heard the clatter of a sword hitting the ground and she opened her eyes. Percy was standing above her, head bowed. Theos Dolofonos lay at her feet.
"I can't do it."
She knew what he meant. She pushed herself to her feet, "Percy..."
"You're right. I've already done things that I regret. So many of them."
He sunk to his knees, "And they're killing me."
She walked over to him and knelt down beside him. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He gripped onto her, sobbing quietly into her arms. 
"If it's killing you," she whispered, "Why don't you stop?"
"Because," he sobbed, "It feels so good to have power, after spending so much time without it."
"You can have power without being a tyrant," Annabeth pointed out. He looked up at her face, "I don't know how."
"How to what?"
"How to be good," he whispered, "All I can remember is evil."
She lifted her hands up to his head and pulled the helmet off, placing it on the ground and looking into his red-rimmed eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek, "There is so much more to you than what Gaea made you."
"You really think so?" he asked, "I killed Zeus. I killed Jason. I nearly killed you."
She smiled softly, "Our mistakes make us stronger."
He shook his head, "Mine have made me eviler."
She took his hands in hers, "Listen to me now, Percy Jackson. You are not just the Tyrant King of Olympus. You're also the guy who jumped into Tartarus for me. You're the guy who turned down immortality for me. You're the guy who save Olympus twice."
She smiled softly, "You're my Seaweed Brain."
Thalia chose that moment to crash into the throne room. Percy and Annabeth glanced up at the hunter. Thalia frowned, "Did I miss something?"
Annabeth chuckled, "Yes."
Thalia glared at Percy, "Did he put a spell on you?"
Annabeth shook her head. She turned back to Percy, "Ready to right some wrongs."
He looked uncertain, "I'm not sure if anything I do will be enough."
Annabeth smiled, "You can start by bringing back the gods."

***

To be honest, Poseidon hadn't expected to be brought out of Tartarus so soon. Yes, he'd been in there for a couple months, but in the life of an immortal, that was like the blink of an eye. 
Poseidon was walking beside the Phelegethon when he felt his body begin to dissolve. He blinked, and he was in the Olympian throne room, standing in front of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Beside him, the other Olympian gods stood, looking just as shocked as he felt. Percy glanced awkwardly at Annabeth before saying, "Hi."
Ares snapped. He roared and charged forward, arms out as if he was going to throttle Percy. Percy's eyes flashed blue and thunder sounded above them. Ares froze, going slightly pale at Percy's death stare. He stepped back in line with the other gods. Percy took a deep breath and held out his arms, "Chain me up."
None of the gods knew quite what to say. Annabeth frowned, "Percy, wha..."
He waved her off, "I'm dangerous. I need to be chained up."
"I've seen your memories, Percy. The chains don't restrict you."
Percy sighed and turned back to the gods, "Just do it."
Hera raised her arm, "I feel like we missed something important. Can you give us a recap?"
Percy sighed again, rubbing his temples, "I was evil, I did bad things. Now I've brought you back so you can rule Olympus, and you need to chain me up before I do something dumb."
"So you're saying..." Hermes frowned. 
"I'm saying I want you to chain me up and lock me away. How hard is that for you to understand?"
"They've been in Tartarus for two months," someone said, and Poseidon turned to see Thalia Grace leaning against the wall, "Let their brains have a moment to recover."
"I have a question," Demeter frowned, looking around, "Where's Aphrodite?"
Percy grimaced, "Oh yeah."
He held out his arms and closed his eyes. After a moment, there was a golden flash, and a bedraggled looking Aphrodite appeared in the throne room. Almost immediately, she began complaining.
"Look at me!" she sobbed, "My hair is full of ash! My makeup hasn't been reapplied in months and my clothes are ruined!"
Percy rolled his eyes, "You're a goddess. Just use your magic."
Aphrodite glared at him before flicking her wrist and making herself look beautiful again. Percy held out his wrists again, and the gods glanced around at each other.
"I'll do it," someone said, and everyone turned to see Athena step forward with golden chains in her hands. 
"Mom, no!" Annabeth hissed. Athena shook her head, "If it's what Percy wants, then we must do it."
Percy bowed his head in thanks, "Thank you, Lady Athena."
Athena walked up to Percy and clasped the chains around his wrists, neck and feet. The goddess of wisdom then led Percy away. Poseidon watched him go, watched him glance back at Annabeth and smile reassuringly. 
"What's that noise?" Demeter asked. Annabeth cursed, "I completely forgot! The demigods and hunters are fighting Percy's army."
Poseidon ran out to the edge of Olympus with the other gods. Below them, just as Annabeth had said, was an army of monsters fighting an army of demigods. Poseidon clapped his hands together and a small hurricane swept through Manhatten, wiping out all the monsters, titans and giants. The demigods were left untouched by the hurricane, and they watched in awe as the monsters all turned to dust. Once the hurricane had cleared, Poseidon yelled, "Olympus has been liberated!"
The demigods all cheered. Poseidon turned to the rest of the council, "Now, we decide what shall be done with my son."