Thaw (MCU//PJO)

Chapter 5

"We have to find him before Asgard does," Annabeth stood up. Jason pitied her- for, even though Annabeth and Percy had broken up long before his exile for reasons that had never really been revealed, they'd remained incredibly close, saying that it seemed foolish to lose a friendship over something as silly as a break up. His exile had broken her, and, from the way she was acting now, she hadn't completely mended. Then again, had anyone around the table truly mended?

"I agree," he nodded anyway. "But, Annabeth, you must understand. He's not the Percy we knew. He's... changed." Jason couldn't believe how much his friend had drifted from his old self- his entire body rendered unrecognisable by scars, the mania in his sea-green eyes, the genuine amusement on his face as he murdered women, men and children alike. Nobody was safe in that hall- Jason only thanked the gods he hadn't been one of the many dead.

For what seemed like the thousandth time since the night before, Jason wondered what was going on inside Percy's head. He was so different from the cheerful, sarcastic teenager he had once known; how did he transition from that to a heartless killer? He had been himself all the way up until his exile, and, recently, he had been proven innocent, so it wasn't a result of anything up until that point. What had Percy endured after his banishment from Olympus that had affected him that badly? At the thought, Jason's heart felt like it was tearing in half.

"Maybe if we can find him and just talk to him... I don't know." Nico ran a hand through his hair, staring at the floor. After a few moments of complete silence from everyone, he looked up. "Do we know if Olympus is still accessible?"

"Yeah, but it takes a hell of a lot of effort to get up there. Besides, the place is practically just rubble," Frank folded his arms.

"He couldn't be there. He thinks we're dead... but the Asgardians aren't. Why would he live on Olympus if it's just asking for an ambush?" Annabeth asked herself aloud, then her eyes, stormy with thought, widened. "Wait... that could be what he wants."

"Let them figure it out and come to him. It's suicide on both sides," Grover shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Not for Percy," Jason looked at him. "Percy said something last night. Something about being the last Greek god. He could be immortal."

"Only one way to find out," Annabeth said. "I'm getting my stuff and going to Olympus."

---

Olympus was a wasteland.

The sky was dim and blocked by the grey clouds that overcast the sky. Almost every building was unrecognisable. At the sight, Annabeth's eyes got very shiny- that was when Nico remembered that she had designed this place. Every building broken was her own life's work broken. The things she'd made to be permanent had been destroyed and, along with it, her legacy. He took her hand and squeezed it with comfort but, remembering where she was, she let go of Nico's hand and wiped her eyes with her own, shaking her head. The path below their feet was cracked and overgrown with plants that had taken over the whole place. Golden ichor still littered the streets- especially the Olympian council. At one point, Hazel threw up.

"I didn't think I'd ever see this place again," Grover breathed, turning in a circle.

"Are we really seeing it, though?" Jason asked to no one in particular.

Nico folded his arms and held them there tight, closing his eyes and letting himself be in the presence of where his family had once stood in the days they prospered. They weren't perfect, the Olympians. They'd ruined themselves and had taken down everyone around them in the process. What had happened was their doing, and they were far from good or fair. Nico had hated them for the longest time, as did every other demigod, but, now, that they were gone forever, Nico thought he spoke for everyone when he told himself that he'd give the world away if it meant they'd come back for even a moment just so he could say sorry. Sorry that he'd made it out and they hadn't, sorry that he'd failed them, sorry that they couldn't come back.