Can y'all read this

cuz I can

"ATTACK!"

Nico paled even more as he heard the familiar sound of monsters stampeding towards them.

Well, it was quite concerning that it was now familiar, but that was besides the point. A swarm of monsters rushed towards them, seeming to come out of nowhere. Percy wasn't anywhere to be seen. He looked at Will with a wild sort of feeling to protect his boyfriend at all costs.

Will shook his head and mouthed, 'Don't worry about me.' Nico furrowed his brow and stepped forward, meaning to pray to his dad for some luck.

Instead, he just unsheathed his Stygian Iron sword and hoped for the best as he slashed at the first row of beasts.

Sort of Percy's POV—

Percy watched the battle from a nearby tree, hiding in the shadows with his cloak over his face so no one could see him. Tartarus would kill him if he found out that he was staying there, but he just wanted to make sure Neeks didn't die.

And maybe see a bit of bloodshed.

He just prayed that no one would see him, fall out of the tree, or be forced to intervene.

But of course the Fates had to hate him.

Because right in the middle of the battle, Nico collapsed.

Who knows how it happened? It could've been from exhaustion, injuries, but nothing else mattered to Percy than that moment.

"NO!" Will cried from the other side. Somehow, he had saw it from several yards away and cornered by empousas, but . Nico was quickly being surrounded by monsters and beasts of all kinds.

This was Tartarus' plan, Percy realized.

He knew that he was bluffing his loyalties.

A wave of dread washed over him as he knew he was going to walk right into the trap.

So Percy did the sensible thing.

He jumped.

"Get away from him!" Blinded by his rage against Tartarus and the monsters, he vaporized the first couple and fought like never before.

Nico, still on the ground but conscious, coughed.

"What the Tartarus—?!" He choked out, clutching his bleeding leg in agony. "No! What are you doing you idiot?!"

"Protecting you, that's what! Don't ask! I'm not going to make it, so I have to tell you one thing." He stabbed a hellhound in the mouth and turned to him, multitasking.

"Don't say that!" Nico tried to stand up but fell back to the floor, his face twisted with pain. "You're not going to die! Please!" Percy shook his head.

"I'll either die in this fight or Tartarus will kill me." He replied, stabbing a dracaena in the heart. "I'm not working for the titans, nor Tartarus, nor Order. I was a double agent. You can't tell anyone. Please. They'll think I'm a hero. Make them think I stabbed you." Nico stared at him in horror.

"Why on earth would I do that?!" He shouted. "You're not going to die. You're a hero. You saved us all."

"Trust me." Percy begged. "Please." Nico looked away, a new kind of pain tainting his eyes.

"Why?"

Percy pursed his lips as he casually blood bended a couple monsters at once. "You'll see why." He dodged a whirlwind of claws and started to lift Nico up. "You need to get out of here."

"What—?!" Nico yelped as they disappeared into mist.

Line break sponsored by Cappy the pet seagull with anger issues

(from AthenasGirl2028 (tanks sis!!!))

The forest in which they reappeared in was dark and haunting, the branches looking like crooked arms reaching out towards them, sharp stones littering the ground instead of weeds or grass. It looked so gloomy, it seemed like Demeter had cursed this place.

"I knew you were going to come here, Jackson." An all-too familiar voice cackled.

For the first time, a stab of fear pricked his heart. He turned around shakily to face the primordial of the abyss. Nico groaned in discomfort as Percy set him down carefully, dropped his sword, and raised his hands in the air.

"Don't hurt him." He whispered. "You can kill me. I don't care. Just don't harm him." Tartarus' snarky grin made the hairs on Percy's back raise.

"Finally, you're not ahead of the game, are you, Jackson?"

Percy nodded, silent. Tartarus grabbed his arm, his hand fiery hot. He grunted in pain as the skin touched the fire, but he gritted his teeth and forced his face to remain indifferent. Tartarus jeered in his face and spat on it.

"You'll pay for what you've done." He hissed. "You'll meet the fate of Kronos himself—eternal sleep." Nico gasped.

"No!" He cried. Tartarus laughed, a bone-chilling, raspy chuckle.

"Maybe I can throw your friend in, too?" He suggested. Percy felt a desperation in him, clawing his insides to shreds and spiking his adrenaline so high it could probably touch the ends of the galaxy.

"Let him feel the agony of mercy." He said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. Tartarus looked surprised.

"Oh, what's this? A bit of ruthlessness still in you, huh, Jackson?" He pulled him closer, making Percy shudder with disgust and fear of being sucked into his endless prison vortex. "Alright then."

"Percy!" Nico's dark eyes were shining with tears. "I—I'll always remember you. I'm sorry." Percy laughed, but the sound was laced with pain.

"Don't worry, Neeks. Don't be sorry."

The son of Hades blinked, and he found himself alone in the forest.

In Tartarus—

"Face your doom like a man, Jackson." Tartarus threw Percy down like a limp rag right at the edge of the cliff, where he had killed Kronos forever. "Now that I am nearly fully awake, I will release all the monsters in the Pit, destroying the gods so that I and Mother Earth can rule!" An idea flashed in Percy's mind.

Risky, but it could still work.

Despite being close to death, Percy snorted.

"Why are all the villain's plans about taking over the world?" He complained.

"SILENCE!" Tartarus roared. "You plan on sassing me even when you are minutes away from your eternal doom?!" Percy smirked, but he nearly gave himself away when he saw someone behind the primordial.

Damesan. He had reformed. Joy bubbled in his heart to see his favorite giant, but he held it down.

Filled with a new sort of courage, he got up to his feet.

"That's why I'm Persassy." He snarked. "C'mon, I'm just a mortal. A godling. You can easily impale me and throw me in. Go on, do it! Or are you...scared?" Tartarus snarled, summoning a giant sword that radiated power.

"I will destroy you!" He rumbled, charging at him like a bull. Percy stood his ground, staying as still as a statue frozen by Medusa.

He closed his eyes, remembering his mother's words for a split second before taking a sharp turn away from the cliff.

Time seemed to slow as Tartarus yelped in surprise and tumbled right over the cliff, straight into the boiling sea of destruction.

But not without yanking Percy down with him.

Nico's POV—

That was it.

Percy was gone.

Dead.

There wasn't any chance that he could've survived a showdown with Tartarus, one of the most feared Protogenoi in all history of Chaos.

Tears welled up in my eyes, streaming down my face. He had saved my life, but it had come with a price.

And now the world was going to be destroyed.

"Nico!"

Hades appeared besides me.

"Dad." I said weakly. The blood loss was getting to my head. "I—Percy—he—Tartarus" Hades put a finger on my lips and lifted me up.

"Shh. You can tell me what happened later." He touched my ankle, and it immediately healed. "Where's Will?"

"At camp, fighting." I croaked. "Percy—he—he saved me." Hades blanched, his skin almost looking translucent because of his pale complex.

"What happened?" He whispered, as if he didn't want to know what happened but still did. More tears broke free and squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to utter the word that brought so much pain.

"Dead."

"No." He breathed. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not that sea scum. No." I buried my face into his robe and cried. I cried harder than I had ever done in a long, long time.

He was gone.

For good.

No ghost or anything, nothing. I couldn't ever see him in Elysium, or the Underworld. His soul was gone.

Destroyed forever.

And now Tartarus was going to have his revenge on the gods.

hai

uhm

pls don't kill me *dodges knives, swords, daggers, arrows, rocks, and bananas*

ITS FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY

OK

JUST

JUST TRUST THE PROCESS

at least it wasn't a cliffhanger

I finally finished a chapter that doesn't have one

✨yay✨