Seeking Happiness

I watched him sit there in the dirt. I would say he was crumbling, but that would be an understatement. He was destroyed. His life as he knew it was now in pieces and so was he. I don't know if I had ever seen Percy cry, but there was no question that he was now. His scream echoed through my head. It hurt my heart, it was the cry of a broken man. I wanted to console him, but I knew what he really needed right now was space. I've seen what Percy is capable when he is over emotional. I don't want to be caught up in a jackson storm.

The sun was setting in the distance turning the sky a dark purple. I decided I had given him enough time to grieve over his lost life. I put my hand on his shoulder and helped him to his feet. His eyes were dry now, no tears. But they were rimmed red, His expression dripped with defeat. I sighed, "Look I don't think this is as bad as you think it is. I think we still have a chance to surface. I mean I am the son of Hades, I can control the balance now. We can fix this Percy."

He shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is My family is up there." He pointed upwards towards the now dark sky. "My friends are up there... My Life... is up there. And I... I'm down here man! I've never been so scared in my entire life." I could see his chest heave with every heavy breath he took. He's really working himself up.

"Look, we don't even know the facts yet. I could have just not had enough juice to send us up. Maybe the balance is like a battery and I just need to recharge." Percy just shook his head, "Doesn't matter. We only had two days left before Elysium claimed us. It took you nearly a month to finally send them back upstairs with the living. Sorry to sound like pessimist. But I don't know how possible it would be to recharge that fast."

He took a couple steps towards The middle of Elysium. Thats where the beach was and I was guessing he wanted to be near the water. His posture slumped as he walked away. I had had enough of this moping Percy. Yes our situation does merit a little bit of worry but panic? I've never known Percy to be the panic kind. I took off my shoe and threw it at him. It him square in the middle of his back. He froze for a beat then turned on his heal to face me. He was mad, beyond mad. It was so unPercy like.

He took a step towards me, "Do you think this is a game Nico? I've been in tartarus, I've been on the verge of death a thousand times. I've felt every kind f pain imaginable. And yet nothing compares to this. Nothing compares to this fucking hole in chest. My family was the momentum the kept me going. My wife, my kids, they are my life. Without them I have nothing! So go ahead take you other shoe off and throw it at me. It won't change that fact that were screwed. Why can't you see that. Its called the BALANCE! Two people made it to the surface and two people got stuck down here. We BALANCE OUT! You traded our lives for theirs Nico!

I shook my head. I refuse to accept that.Yes we are in Elysium, the place heroes go when they die. Yes we are here while Leo and Jason are up on the surface. But that doesn't mean we're screwed. I can fix this I know I can. Frankly Percy's accusations hurt. He was basically blaming me for all of this. So when he turned to walk away again I did just what he told me to. I took off my other shoe and threw it. This time I missed but it still felt good.

I stormed off in the other direction. I didn't know where I was going but right now I just didn't want to be around Percy. I've been angry with Percy before, I am no stranger to anger. But this felt different. I was angry with his pessimism. He had always looked at the brighter side of life. Oh how I wish I could just give him that care free smile again. I kept walking until I arrived at a building. The forge. I hadn't spent almost any time in here, but this was Leo's safe haven so why not.

When I waked in I was immediately greeted by a large man. "Bekendorf? I heard you were here but I never saw you." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes I am here. But you.. Should not be here. And neither should Percy." He continued to beat away at whatever it was he was building. He looked back up to me, "So what are you going to do about it?" My eyes widened, "Well I don't exactly have a plan now do I? If I did I wouldn't be here."

He rolled his eyes, "I refused to accept my fate from the moment I arrived here. I wouldn't mind it so much except I'm forever separated from Silena. I've been working on a way to bust her out from day one." I took a step closer to him, "Wow wow wow, wait! Hold up! You know how to break out of here!" He smiled and looked up at me and winked, "Oh I know much more than that my friend."

Notes