Percy Jackson, the embodiment of hope.

Chapter 45: Cave-in. (And progress.)

Luke cried out to her, pinned under the falling rocks.

The cave around them was crumbling. Her, Dove, and Hero had all been sent to spy and gain Intel.

They had almost escaped the city when the cave that they went through collapsed.

Zoe hesitated. She could hear the guards, the dogs, the rumbling of the crashing cave.

Dove had already escaped. She had left before them, which meant that Zoe and Luke would finish the mission alone.

She hesitated. His outreached hand started to falter as he realized that he might die.

"Huntress, please," he begged. "We're teammates. I know you don't like me, but you can't just let me die."

The noises grew louder as Zoe struggled.

On one hand, this was the man - no, boy, who basically caused the second Titan war and caused the deaths of many, including herself. On the other hand, he was her teammate, and technically, her superior.

Percy wouldn't have made him second in command for no reason. And... she had interacted with him. He regretted his past decisions, no matter how much he was influenced by Kronos. He wanted to make amends.

She decided and reached her hand out, grabbing his and pulling him as hard as she could. But he didn't move. He let go of her hand and let it, along with his head, drop to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked worriedly as the cave shook.

"Just go," Luke said. "I'm stuck, and you can't get me out. There's no use in two of us dying."

Zoe stared at him for a moment and then grabbed his hand again, pulling it as hard as possible.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She continued to try and pull his arm, struggling. "You're not dying! You're going to survive, and you're going to make up for your past actions."

"But... you can't get me out," he said.

Zoe continued to pull. "Bull. I'm the-"

Luke suddenly wrenched his hand away from her, bringing her with it and saving her from a massive rock that crashed right where she had been standing.

"Why are you so intent on saving me?" He asked.

"Because you deserve it. You have helped many, and you're going to continue to help more, even once you've atoned," She responded.

Luke opened his mouth to speak when voices rang out, alerting others to their presence.

Zoe paled while Luke chuckled. "Hey, I told you to leave me. You should have listened to your superior officer."

Gunshots rang out through the cave as they saw Zoe behind the massive rock.

She crouched down. "Crap."

Luke moved his head to let his face rest on the floor.

"Hey, at least you'll go to Elysium," he mumbled.

She looked at him in disbelief as gunshots rang out above her head. The soldiers were getting closer.

"We're getting out of this!" She said angrily, tired of his acceptance of death.

He laughed as a gunshot grew louder, indicating that the soldiers were getting even closer.

"And how is that?" He asked. "How exactly do you think we'll get out of this? I'm trapped under rubble, both of us are trapped in this cave system with too many soldiers for you and your bow to take out, and Dove already left."

She growled at him. "I hate you, you know that?"

He laughed. "I would say the same to you, but I would be lyi -"

The cave suddenly stopped shaking. The soldiers looked around, confused.

Drones flew out of the tunnels and attacked, burning, shooting, clawing, and melting them.

Forge walked around the dead bodies as the drones swarmed into his cloak, with Hope walking next to him.

Zoe breathed a sigh of relief as they obliterated the big rock and the rubble. She stood up and offered a hand to the still laying down Luke. "Want help getting up?" She asked.

He looked up at her blankly. "Zoe... my legs are broken."

"WHAT?" She exclaimed.

He nodded. "Did you really think that tons of rubble crashing onto me wouldn't break my bones?"

She stared at him for a few moments in shock. "Then why did you ask me to get you out from under it?"

"So you could carry me to safety?" He said. "I mean, it's the only thing you could have done."

For a while, she stood there, processing information while Percy tried not to laugh, and Beckendorf took mental notes to tell Silena.

Eventually, she unfreeze. She silently picked him up in a bridal carry and walked through the cave while Percy and Beckendorf led her to the exit.

They left the cave and opened a portal, going back to their home. As Zoe silently walked to the medical bay, she passed Bellerophon, who instantly snapped a photo and smiled gleefully.

She set Luke down on a cot, and Heart started working on him. She turned to leave, but Luke spoke up.

"Hey, Zoe?" He asked. She turned around and looked at him.

"Yes?" She asked.

He winced with pain as Heart used some magic. "Do you... do you actually hate me?"

She stayed silent for a bit, thinking. Finally, she spoke.

"I did. Back on Earth. But now... no, I don't. I may not like you yet, but I don't hate you."

He smiled. "Thank you, Zoe."

She nodded to him and Heart, and then left. She passed Bianca in the hallway, who smiled at her. She smiled back.

Eventually, she reached her room and sat down on her bed. She reached over to her bedside table and grabbed a photo frame.

She drifted her hand across it, smiling. In it, her, Bianca, Percy, Thalia, and Grover all stood together, smiling. Even Zoe, although she was between the two girls. Aphrodite had taken it.

The photo switched to one of her helping Pontus fix his staff. She smiled as she looked at it.

He barely interacted with anyone but his wife. However, on that day, he had come to Chaos for help fixing his symbol of power, who had sent Zoe to help.

And she had fun. They talked and talked, enjoying the other's company. She still writes him letters. She smiled and put the photo frame back on her bedside table. A bell rang for dinner, so she stood up and left the room.

As she left, the photo frame turned to a picture of her, Bianca, and Luke, all on a tunnel of love ride due to a bet.

All were smiling.