I Give Up
As soon as they stepped out of the house with the fireplace, a salty hit reached them.
Percy looked for a moment, a bit stunned, at the vast sea stretching out before his eyes. The sky, which had been dark just moments ago when they left the Lotus Casino, was now beginning to dawn; maybe because of how long it took them to find Annabeth and Harry, showing once again that those few minutes had cost them far more time than they thought.
Annabeth and Harry, after hearing about the Lotus Casino for the first time, kept their heads down, embarrassed; especially knowing they had doubted Grover and Percy so much, when it was actually those two who had pulled them out of the mess they got into just by getting distracted.
The old mansion stood on a hill, right at the edge of the beach; the only one around.
Percy couldn't help but feel how the sea seemed to call him… and the waves whisper his name.
"Santa Monica…," Percy said, recognizing the beach he was standing on, even without anyone telling him.
"Do you… want to go talk to your father?" Grover asked after a moment, sensing Percy's emotions.
That seemed to snap Percy out of his slight trance, and he just gave a calm smile.
"No… what could I even say to him? Or what could he say to me?" he said, with a noticeable calm; though the way he looked at the sea made his mind feel more at ease than it had ever been.
Since finding out he was a demigod… and Poseidon's son, maybe this was the first time he looked at the sea like this.
"This is our fault… I'm sorry, really. I didn't expect to get distracted by something like that… of all people, me," Harry said, a bit embarrassed, scratching his head.
Annabeth, on the other hand, quickly pushed past her embarrassment and put on a serious face as she looked at the rising sun on the horizon.
"Alright… fine. There's only one day left, but we can still do it. We need to find the Underworld, get to Hades and ask—"
"I give up."
Percy's voice suddenly cut through everything, making all of them turn toward him with complete confusion. Even Harry looked at him, not expecting those words from his brother.
"What?" Annabeth said, as if she hadn't heard him right.
Percy stopped looking at the sea for a moment and, with the calmest face Harry had ever seen on him, said again:
"I give up," as he raised both arms simply.
Leaving all of them both confused and completely shocked.
"Percy?" Harry asked, staring at his brother, puzzled. He couldn't understand it. For the first time… he had no idea what was going through his brother's mind.
"Do you remember, Harry…? When we were five… we used to see Dudley on his father's shoulders when they went to the park, showing us everything we didn't have. A father… Mom did everything she could to make up for that. All this time we thought our parents were dead… and it turns out mine was alive. And doing just fine."
"The only help we had was from your grandmother… and him? He didn't even care. And I never needed him… right? I met Master Einjard… he taught me how to use a sword. Then Dred showed up… then Adrian… Dorien… Mark… Sirius… Arthur… Luther… all of them were more of a father figure than he ever was. Because of them I'm a good swordsman… right? And I want to believe I'm a good kid too," he said, looking at his brother with a smile… but one that didn't quite reach his emotions.
"Yeah… you are, Percy. The best," Harry said calmly, not taking his eyes off him.
"Mom always took care of us… and when she couldn't… we took care of each other. Like when Marge's dog bit you. We fought it off with sticks and stones. We got back at that damn woman… and she never bothered us again. I watch your back, you watch mine. That's how it's always been…," as a tear fell from his brother's face.
"Yeah…," Harry murmured, letting Percy vent, just like he seemed to need, staying there for him.
"I learned how to ride a bike without him. I learned how to fight thugs without him. I learned a lot of things without him ever being in my life… and I went eleven birthdays without getting a single damn present from him… not even a damn card. And right when I find out he's alive… that he even exists… suddenly… I have to save him from a war… like it's my problem… with his stupid brother… over some stupid toy… So screw it! If they want to kill each other, let them," Percy shouted as he threw the backpack Ares had given him, launching it toward the beach, yelling straight at the sea with raw fury.
At that moment, both Grover and Annabeth had their mouths shut so tight it felt like no words could come out. Even if they wanted to defend the sea god or whatever… even Annabeth seemed shaken by Percy's words, as she looked down for a moment at the Yankees cap in her hands, tightening her grip on it.
"Ever since this stupid quest to save his ass started… the only thing we know for sure is one thing: every damn thing we run into wants to kill us. And it's all because we're his children. So… yeah. I give up," Percy let out again with conviction, before turning around and walking down the stone steps leading to the beach with firm steps, as if nothing else mattered right now.
"Per—" before Grover could stop him, Harry held him back for a moment with a serious look and a slight nod, before following his brother himself.
Their footsteps on the sand sounded softly as Percy walked all the way to the edge of the shore, looking out at the sea, while the waves kept trying to call him… but Percy didn't feel like listening, just watching them as he sat down for a moment, looking at the beach, which was full of trash; feeling, for a moment, what Grover always felt when he saw it… all that human pollution.
He heard footsteps approaching and noticed it was Harry, who didn't say much, just sitting down beside him.
"We made it pretty far, right?" Harry said, also looking out at the sea.
"And when we get back, Mom's probably going to be really mad… same with Aunt Mor… and definitely all the knights. We might not even see sunlight for a good while with the punishments we're getting," Percy said, wincing just imagining it.
"Ugh… and Ron, who sent us to his house…," Harry added, wearing the exact same expression as his brother. "So I guess we give up," Harry said, letting his back drop onto the ground, staring up at the sky, like all the exhaustion, the anxiety, and the fear they'd been carrying this whole time finally crashed into him all at once.
Two sets of footsteps came rushing over; obviously Grover and Annabeth, who saw them just sitting and lying there in the sand like nothing.
"You can't be serious. We're right at the final stretch… and our mission is just going to fail?" Annabeth said, her gaze sharp.
"Yeah… we give up," Percy said with a shameless grin.
Grover looked between Harry and Percy for a moment, shaking his head in confusion.
"Then… if you're not going to finish the mission, I will," Annabeth said, looking at both of them as her face filled with anger. "Grover, are you coming?" she asked, shooting the goat boy a piercing look.
Grover looked at Annabeth for a moment, then at Percy… and finally at Harry, who was calmly staring up at the sky.
Then he walked right between the two of them and simply dropped onto the sand as well, looking up at the sky like he was enjoying the soft breeze.
"I'm their protector. If they're waiting to get struck by lightning… then I'll wait with them," Grover said, letting out a long sigh.
"What…?" Annabeth looked at Grover in surprise, not expecting even him to give up.
"Come on, Annabeth… just enjoy the breeze," Percy said with a smile, tapping the spot right next to him.
"You don't even know where the Underworld is. Even with one day left… I'm sure once you're in there it won't be that easy to find Hades, and more importantly, what makes you think he'd give you the master bolt if he actually had it?" Harry said calmly, resting his hands behind his head.
Annabeth looked at the three of them lying there, her mouth opening and closing. Then she glanced toward the nearby city. They still had a long way to go to reach Los Angeles, even if they were much closer than at any other point in their journey. Then she seemed to think about Hephaestus's words… about her mother's punishment… that had almost cost them their lives.
She hesitated for a moment… but then turned back toward her companions, the ones who had lived through this entire journey with her, nearly dying more than once. And her steps moved on their own toward them, walking right to the spot Percy had tapped earlier, sitting down there.
"For the first time I had the chance to complete a mission… no, two missions… and I failed right at the end," she said, her voice close to breaking. And still, she didn't go on alone like she said she would… she joined them in giving up.
"Hahaha… if we're going to give up, we do it as a group," Percy said with a wide grin. "You hear that… Ares?" Percy suddenly said, turning his head to look toward a direction on the beach.
That made both Grover and Annabeth turn toward him, confused, while Harry let out a faint smile, almost proud. They all looked in the same direction Percy was looking, where a familiar figure could be seen approaching them, his expression cold, his steps heavy… like a giant closing in.
Ares, the god of war they had parted ways with in Denver… hadn't actually been that far away after all.
"So you figured it out, huh," Ares said, clearly annoyed as he looked at the group. Only Annabeth and Grover were still completely lost, while Harry and Percy watched him with smiles. "When?" Ares asked again.
"Oh, well… I didn't catch it right away. Harry did," Percy said calmly, with a hint of arrogance and mockery.
"There's something they keep telling us ever since we got to Camp Half-Blood… don't trust anyone. So every time we run into someone, I keep going over what they say again and again. And you said it yourself the first time we met: blaming someone to start a war is the oldest trick in the book. And who benefits from a war more than you? Not exactly the kind of guy who'd go around helping people out of generosity… and yet you made sure we got where we needed to go without much trouble," Harry said calmly, nudging Ares's backpack lying in the sand with his foot. "I don't judge a book by its cover… but I do listen when I'm told not to trust anyone," he added.
"Wait… so all of this was a setup," Grover muttered, finally putting it together, his face completely confused.
"Well… the part about my dad being a jerk, that's not fake. And besides, sometimes to fool an enemy, you have to fool your friends first. Though I thought you'd figured it out too, same as Annabeth," Percy replied, glancing at her for a moment.
Grover turned to look at Annabeth, who now had a slightly smug smile, like it was nothing for her to have figured it out.
"Enemy? Hahaha…," Ares laughed mockingly, like he'd just heard the funniest joke in his life. "You really think you're my enemies? You've got that very wrong, brats. Let me remind you… I'm a god," Ares said, his tone turning serious.
And suddenly, a primal fear seemed to erupt inside each of them, as they remembered exactly who was standing in front of them.
"I see that if you won't go to the Underworld the easy way… Then I'll send you there myself," he added coldly, his sunglasses melting under the fire coming from his eyes as he stared straight at the four of them.