What if Percy had kept his Promise?

What if Percy hadn't let Bianca go into the Talos statue? What if he was the one 'lost in the land without rain'?

What if Bianca had lived, and Percy hadn't?

The Titan's Curse
"Crazy-idea time" Percy said.

I looked at him nervously. "Anything."

He pointed to a hatch on the bottom of the giant's foot that read FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY "There may be a way to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."

"How? You'll have to stand under it's foot. You'll be crushed!" I protested.

"Distract it. I'll have to time it just right."

My mind raced. This was my fault, not his. He shouldn't have to take the risk. "No. I'll go. It was my fault."

"You can't. You're new at this! You'll die."

"It's my fault the monster came after us. It's my-"

''"Bianca." ''He looked into my eyes, and I stopped short. "Stay. Here. I made a promise, and I don't intend to break it."

"You- What?"

"I'll see you in a second." He started toward the monster.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm. He turned. "Bia-" he didn't get to finish. Because that was when I kissed him, right on the lips. "Just come back."

He seemed to be in shock, but headed back towards the monster.

''Oh my gods. Oh my gods, Oh my gods, Oh my gods! What did I just do?!?!''

Artemis was going to kill me. Possibly literally kill me. I'd be kicked out of the Hunters for sure. But Percy...

I'd secretly had a crush on him ever since he picked up Nico and I from Westover. I'd joined the Hunters to become free of responsibility, free of my 24/7 role as the big sister. Not because I wanted to give up boys.

Suddenly I heard a crash. I looked up and saw Grover fly backwards into a pile of scrap metal. "No!" Thalia yelled. The machine lifted it's foot to crush him, but then it froze. Then it lifted it's hand and slapped itself repeatedly. I cheered. "Go Percy!"

Thalia looked at me with wide eyes. "He's in there?"

Talos staggered arround. Thalia grabbed Grover, and me, Zoe`, and them ran toward the highway. Then just as we turned around, the automaton tripped over a power line.

"No!" I watched in horror as blue electricity arced through the metal giant. The statue crumpled to pieces.

''"Percy!" ''We searched through the wreckage of the Talos statue all night. Nothing.

''"Ahh!" ''Thalia screamed and stabbed her sword into a stray piece of wreckage. Zoe` stood looking at the ground, a somber look on her face. Grover couldn't stop sobbing. I stood frozen in shock. He was gone. No, my mind fought. ''No,No,No. ''Then another part of my mind, a deep subconsious that hadn't been disturbed in a long time, buzzed, sending an almost electric jolt through me. Percy Jackson, it hummed. Shut up, I told it.

Finally, Zoe`, who seemed the least affected by Percy's death (of course, because she's a hunter), got us moving again. We found a rusty old pick up truck by the side of the highway and got it to start. I sat with Zoe` in the front, and Thalia sat in the back with Grover, who still hadn't stopped crying. "It should have been me." I said once Zoe` had been driving for a while.

"No, Bianca. Percy made his choice. He saved us all. And we must respect his decision."

She doesn't get it, I thought. No one gets it

I fell asleep a couple minutes after that.

In my dream, I stood in what looked like a cross between a wheat field and a mausolium. Three figures in golden masks sat at a table beside a man in black robes. And in front of them stood...

"Percy Jackson." The man in the black robes said.

Percy glared. "Hades. I guess you're here to give me Punishment just because you don't like me?"

Hades. I thought. Percy was being judged in the Underworld. But how was I seeing this?

Hades didn't respond. Instead, he looked at the men I somehow knew were the Judges of the Dead.

"Retrieved Zeus's Lightning Bolt. Prevented a war of the gods." the first one said.

"Retrieved the Golden Fleece. Saved Camp Half-Blood." The second said.

"Gave his life to save-" The third cut off.

"Yes?" Hades asked impatiently.

"Bianca di Angelo."

Hades was silent.

"Mast-"

"Elysium." Hades said.

"But Master-" the third judge was silenced by the God of the Dead's steely gaze.

Percy was escorted toward a gated neighborhood of shining palaces by girls in floral yellow dresses with dead looks in their eyes. My dream faded.

"Bianca. Awake. We have arrived." I heard Zoe`'s voice as I sat up.

"We're at the west coast?" I asked groggily.

"No. We are at the end of the road. Come." I reluctantly got out of the car.

Grover found a goat path, which was narrow but crossable. Thalia freaked out the whole way, for some reason, but we made it. We ended up on another road. "Great. What now?" Thalia said.

We sat down and thought. "I've got nothing." I finally said after like a half hour.

"Neither do I." Zoe` said.

"Same here." Thalia said. Grover just sat there sobbing, as he had all day.

I heard a rustling in the bushes. Then emerged four of the skeleton warriors. I scowled. "Not these guys again."

Thalia summoned her spear and shield and stood protectively over  a still-crying Grover, Zoe` drew her bow out of thin air. I just stood with my jaw set. I was in no mood to fight skeletons. Apparently the monsters weren't in a fighting mood either; the just looked around like they needed to find something. "They're looking for Percy. They were after his scent. I guess it's still lingering on us." Thalia said.

I clenched my fists. "He's not here!" I yelled angrily at the skeletons.

"Bianca-"

"He's not here and he never will be again!" I interrupted Zoe`. "So leave us alone!"

On my words, the ground rumbled. A fissure opened in the ground at the skeleton's feet, and they were sucked in.

I looked to the others to ask who'd done it, but found all three of them, even Grover, staring at me with horror and astonishment. I stared back. "You- You don't actually think I did that, do you?"

"Uh... Bianca?" Thalia pointed to the space right above my head. I looked up saw a holographic image of a wreath of bones, wrapped in a pitch black aura.

"You're a daughter of Hades." Thalia said in disbelief.

I thought back to my dream, Hades' reaction to my name. I stared at the fissure in the ground where the skeletons had dissapeared. I knew at some subconscious level that it was true, but my mind couldn't fully comprehend it.

"So they all broke the pact." I heard Thalia continue.

"No. Do you not remember our previous conversation? She and her brothder were frozen in time, they were born before the pact was made." Zoe` said.

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