The Fate of Olympus | Reynabeth [✓]

29. ψ Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Part 2

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4. We want reparations and repayment for saving Mount Olympus.

The gods will formally recognize our actions and express their gratitude.

The leaders of the quests that saved Mount Olympus will be granted any reasonable wish, as long as it is within the gods' power.

Mount Olympus will recognize our sacrifice by mounting a memorial for all fallen heroes.

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When I saw Annabeth materialize from the shadows, I ran to the statue of Hera. I grabbed Annabeth by her right hand.

"Percy!" said Annabeth.

"Annabeth!" I said. I almost screamed; I was so relieved. She was alive!

Reyna materialized, holding on to Annabeth's left hand. Nico was holding Reyna's hand for a moment, until he suddenly dropped his hands to his sides.

I hugged Annabeth and gave Nico and Reyna a fist bump.

"Hey—" said Annabeth as she gathered herself. "Percy! Uh...I think you saved us."

"'If you are rescued by a friend, the world as you know it shall end,'" said Nico ominously. "So far one part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. We have been saved."

Even Nico couldn't ruin the mood too much because Lou Ellen and Grover greeted the newcomers with hugs and fist bumps. Not that I'm saying that Nico is a party pooper, I'm just saying that it was kinda rude of him to criticize me for saving his life.

"Okay," I said. "Now what?"

We stood around looking at each other awkwardly for about two minutes. Or at least that's what it felt like. It was probably closer to two seconds.

Anyway, while we were standing around awkwardly, I questioned my own decision. I knew I could save both my friends and save the world as we knew it, right? I wouldn't want the world to change too much. I'd finally found my place in the world. It'd be real mean for the Fates to either take Annabeth from the world or to destroy what we'd built.

"We'll find out," said Nico. The shadows cast by the gods' statues seemed to darken. Even the eternal flame that flickered at the heart of Mount Olympus could not cast away the shadows. 

Maybe we could save what we'd built. We'd done it before. Hopefully by now I'd developed some skill at saving the world. I knew the others were perfectly capable, but I had my doubts about my own abilities. I mean, I'd just made a decision that could change the world forever.

My survival after all these years couldn't all be dumb luck, could it? Sure, sometimes I felt like a fraud, but that was just the impostor syndrome talking or whatever it was called. Plus Mount Olympus hadn't started to fall apart literally (knock on wood), the way it had when the Titans had tried to overthrow the gods. So I figured that it couldn't be all bad.

Reyna and Annabeth gave each other a sideways glance, like they were communicating telepathically. I thought I saw Reyna grimace briefly, but then she was back to her old stoic self. I wondered what it meant. 

The Fates had met with me personally right before my decision. And the Fates were the ones who showed me that I'd die an old man. I was always "supposed to" survive, I just didn't know the cost.

No one had ever outsmarted the Fates. Except that guy who'd gotten them drunk that one time. I didn't remember the story exactly. Maybe Annabeth did. I opened my mouth to her, then I closed it again. My heart sank a little as I remembered what had happened to her memories.

"I guess we should just go back to Camp Half-Blood," I said, breaking the long silence. Maybe when we went to camp, I could ask Chiron how that one guy had outsmarted the Fates. Chiron would know. He was probably alive at the time.

The others agreed. On our way back to the elevators, something bothered me about the sound of Mount Olympus, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. 

In the elevator, I looked to my friends and prayed that they shared my fate. It'd be nice if they got to live to be elderly, too. We'd all be nice and old, live in a peaceful little village, and then we'd fade into obscurity. The thought was lovely, but it was only a wish.

Cheesy elevator disco music crackled to life after we had already descended a hundred floors. There was something wrong. What had bothered me up there?

I looked to Annabeth. I wasn't sure why, but looking at her expression punched me in the gut. Somehow I knew that she was responsible for whatever was wrong. The fires in the braziers on Mount Olympus had burned, but no one was there to tend them. 

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