Percy Jackson's Death Bed

The Hero Returns

12 days.

For 12 days Percy Jackson was lost. The camp had looked different since the war with Gaea. Somehow, it felt even better with the Romans. But Piper couldn't stop to think about all the trouble they had went through and sacrifices they had made to get to this peaceful point in their lives.

For starters, the dozens of casualties in both the Roman and Greek sides. The burial shrouds have already been burned. Then, there was the matter of the Argo II. It made it to Camp Half-Blood in one piece, yes. But that didn't mean that it was okay. From all the gibberish and mechanical language Leo has been telling Piper, she was able to understand at least the whole point. The Argo II could never be functional again. It's insides have been jumbled up badly. Festus had malfunctioned and went to a sleep that could possibly be permanent. They had put a lot of pressure into the ship when they travelled across the world in only a few minutes; a trip that should have taken them months given their usual luck.

Then ofcourse, there was the matter of Percy.

Stupid little Percy, Piper thought. Freaking crazy demi-god Percy. Piper knew she shouldn't be talking about Jackson like this, but she also felt like she should be. Why? Because for eleven days, the Athena Parthenos disappeared. The Romans hadn't taken it again, that was for sure. Who did? Well... Hecate.

Twelve days after the Roman-Greek war, the golden statue of Annabeth's mom reappeared on Half-Blood Hill. She wasn't alone. Other than the goddess Nike in her hands, the goddess Hecate and the real Athena stood to her right. Guess who was standing to the left? None other than...

Perseus Jackson.

Piper wanted to scream curses. "What on Tartarus are you doing here? I'm going to kill you!" She wanted to yell. The other five of them also wanted to line up in front of Percy and then take turns strangling him.

It was early in the morning. The Athena Parthenos glinted in the soft sun light. The sun was emerging from the sea as it illuminated Half-Blood hill. With Percy on the hill, it was the most picturesque sight in the world. From their cabins, demi-gods came out to see the sight. Although they were still wearing their pajamas and their eyes were still a bit drowsy from sleep, they yelled with all their might. "PERCY IS ALIVE!" Then they started running towards the hill. At the door of her cabin, Piper stared at disbelief. She wanted to charmspeak Percy into running off of the cliff and into the sea as punishment for letting them worry about him like that (although that wouldn't have done Percy any harm). But, she couldn't help but crack a smile.

Like most of the demi-gods around her, she started running. She ran towards the hill as if she was starving and the Parthenos was a cornucopia waiting to fill up her stomach. Her hair was a mess, but Piper didn't care. She looked to her left. Within the crowd of running demi-gods, she saw Annabeth running like there was no tomorrow.

Annabeth was overtaking all the others and was soon in the lead. "Surprisingly, when she outstretched her arms it wasn't so she could put her hands around his neck and start choking him. Her arms were opened into a hug. Percy was smiling wildly. His hair was a mess, but Annabeth wouldn't have had it any other way. Percy also opened his arms to receive Annabeth's hug. But, as she was about to make contact with him...

She passed through his body.

Surprised, she took a sharp breath as she went right through Percy. She almost fell off the cliff. "W-what?" She said as she examined her hands. They seemed perfectly normal. She looked back. Percy was also staring at himself in disbelief. "Why couldn't I touch him?" Annabeth thought. For a split second, Annabeth started to panic. "Is he... is he just a spirit?" She muttered. She started to shake at the thought. The campers stopped running and stared at the hero in shock.

"No, my dear." Hecate said softly. "He is a mistform." Annabeth tried to recall what a mistform was, but her mind was too jumbled up too think clearly. She only had a faint memory of the story of a young demi-god named Alabaster.

"A mistform..." Hazel muttered. She knew exactly what that was. Hazel only knew one person who had ever been turned into a mistform in order to cheat death before. It was a mortal man named Howard Claymore. "A physical form created by the mist."

Hecate suddenly faced Hazel. Her pitch black eyes seemed to stare into Hazel's soul and give her chills. "That is correct, Hazel Levesque." The goddess faced Annabeth again.

"Apologies, Ms. Chase. I'm sorry that we weren't able to bring him back with his original body and all."

"Original body? I don't..." Annabeth said. She took a step towards Percy. She looked straight into his eyes. She held out her hand. Percy did the same. They tried to touch their palms, unsuccessfully. Once again, their bodies didn't touch as if Percy was made out of air. It was like he wasn't even really there.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hecate said unapologetically. The goddess flicked her fingers. From her body emerged another Hecate, like her clone. Hecate 2.0 was holding a torch that blazed with a dark black fire, like the ones that decorated the Hades cabin. She lowered the torch onto Percy's feet and he was immediately set on fire.

"AAAAAAAHH!" Percy screamed. The flames engulfed him. But, when the fire died out, he was perfectly normal. "Oh." he said, realizing that he wasn't turned into barbecue. In fact, he looked even better. Color was added to his cheeks. It was like he was a low resolution picture that was converted into a high definition one. He actually looked solid. Finally, when they touched, they were actually able to hold each other. Annabeth sighed like a big weight was taken off of her shoulders. They both hugged each other and Annabeth melted into Percy's arms.

"Wise girl..." Percy whispered as he closed his eyes to just enjoy the moment.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth sniffed. "Don't you think that you've made me suffer like that too many times already?"

Percy let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry. I won't ever do it ag-"

"Don't make promises that you can't keep, Jackson." Annabeth barked. "But right now, all that matters is that you're here with me again. That you're alive."

Somewhere to their right, somebody coughed. They looked at the sound from where it came from. It was Athena. " My daughter, I would, uh... hate to ruin the moment, but Perseus isn't alive. Like Hecate has said, he is a mere mistform. This was the best we could do without utterly breaking the laws of the dead. Somewhere out there, Percy's body is rotting. But, as his soul drifted on the River Styx on its way to judgment, I-"

"We." Hecate corrected.

"Yes, we took his soul before any of the furies or guards of Hades ever took him. Then, with the help of a few more gods, we were able to provide him with a body to inhabit. Although he's still technically deceased." The goddess of crafts explained. Although the goddess' voice was nonchalant and uncaring, Annabeth was filled with thankfulness. Her mother was one of the most forgetful and irresponsible moms in the universe. But, Annabeth couldn't help but think that Athena still had a bit of heart amidst all her overwhelming wisdom.

Annabeth ran towards her mother. For a second, the goddess jumped out of surprise. She was caught in a bear hug. She felt a warm feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time. "Thanks, mom."

At first, Athena's eyebrows curled into an unorthodox shape as if to say "Love? That does not compute." But then the goddess let out a sigh of content.

Awkwardly and hesitantly, she pressed her godly arms against her daughter's back to return the hug. The goddess' sight trailed to Percy. For so long she had resented him, but he had proved himself worthy of her blessing. She looked at all the other demi-gods that stood and watched at the foot of the hill. They too had sacrificed much to save Olympus. Then Athena looked at Annabeth's blonde hair and stormy grey eyes which she obviously inherited from her. She had turned out to be beautiful, persuasive, brave, clever and wise just like her mother. A slight smile painted on Athena's face as she thought:

"These kids are alright."