Nine Seconds

Nine Seconds

Nine seconds. The number of things a person can accomplish in nine seconds is limited. Over the average lifespan of a person, nine seconds comes and goes millions of times. Most of them pass without the person even registering that it happened. By the time they have realized it, another nine seconds has passed.

In the scheme of things, a single nine seconds is rather insignificant, just a passing moment in which millions of different things occur throughout the world.

Not for Perseus Jackson.

In nine seconds, his entire world was turned upside down. And that is when the rest of the world was changed.

For months, all he had known was war. It began several months earlier being kidnapped by the goddess Juno and sent into a deep slumber until the goddess decided to bring her pawn into play.

Sent into foreign territory with almost no memories of his life, he was cast into a war that would decide the fate of the world.

First he was sent to Alaska with the small task of defeating a giant that was immortal in his homeland. His new friends Hazel and Frank were able to destroy the giant while he retrieved the lost eagle of the Roman Legion.

Racing back to Camp Jupiter on the world's fastest steed, he immediately jumped into battle where, with the help of a certain annoying minor Roman god, he was able to defeat a second giant in the span of less than six hours.

Not a bad start for the him and his friends.

Camp was saved and Percy was hailed as the savior of New Rome, even raised on a shield and elected the new praetor of Camp Jupiter. No small accomplishment for a Greek demigod in a span of less than three days.

The next day was far more rewarding, at least in Percy's eyes. The Argo II arrived at camp and he was finally reunited with the love of his life.

The celebration was short lived when an Eidolon possessed the son of Hephaestus leading to an attack on Camp Jupiter which forced Percy and his companions to flee with a legion of enraged Romans hot on their trail.

Not the ideal way to start their journey but it was okay. He had his friends Hazel and Frank along with some new ones as well. And, of course, he had Annabeth. That was all the incentive he needed to buy into the whole sailing to Rome to rescue Nico and stop a couple flamboyant twins of Gaea from destroying the city of Rome.

Obstacles came and went. Some more challenging than others but they made it to Rome.

That is when he had to face the most difficult challenge since waking up in Wolf House; letting Annabeth go off alone into Rome by herself in search of the Athena Parthenos which was guarded by Arachne.

No simple task for a child of Athena.

In the end, he forced himself to let her go alone, knowing she deserved the same type of trust that she placed in him.

Fast forward past almost being drowned by angry water nymphs and defeating two more giants with the absolute least help possible from a certain lazy wine god, Percy is finally reunited with Annabeth only to watch her being dragged down in Tartarus.

That is the first time he realized how much could happen in nine seconds.

Knowing he couldn't pull her up, he made a silent promise to himself that their time for being separated was over. Not after everything they had been through; multiple quests, battles, a war against the Titans and then being kidnapped by one of his least favorite goddesses, regardless of aspect.