Skye, SkysTheLimit084

The Test

Athena gives Percy a test in order to prove he should marry Annabeth

No content warnings apply!

The air was hot, but Percy was still shivering. The huge god-sized double doors loomed in front of him in a swirl of gray and gold. An owl perched on a branch was the only drawing on it, making it very plain for the doors to an Olympian home. Then again Athena was not one for flashiness.

"Well? You gonna knock?" Grover peered at his best friend with slight amusement in his eyes. He was clearly enjoying this whole endeavor a lot more than Percy was.

"I- I think I forgot how to." All Percy could remember was the rehearsed speech his mother had gone over with him the night before. The knowledge of how to knock seemed unimportant at this moment.

"You can't be serious."

Percy looked down at his hand, willing it to form a fist and tap on the door. But it remained a miserable shaking mess at his side. He groaned. "It's not working."

"I think that tuxedo must be cutting off your circulation or something. You're not acting very smart right now. I'm surprised you've managed to stay upright with how badly you're shaking." Grover sized up Percy's appearance. He'd dressed all nice to impress Athena but if he continued to sweat and rock back and forth on his heels, he might get rejected before he even asked his question. "Fine, I'll knock." Grover tapped lightly against the door.

It took a couple of minutes, but Athena finally opened the door. She was decked out in full battle armor, which did nothing to calm Percy's nerves.

"Athena... goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. O beloved daughter of Ze—" Percy started his speech.

Athena interrupted. "What do you want, son of Poseidon?"

The break in his monologue startled him. Suddenly he didn't know what he wanted. Why had he come here in the first place? Surely there was a reason why he was dressed up and at the door of one of his least favorite goddesses. "I wish to marry your daughter!" He got down on one knee and presented the ring to Athena.

"Dude!" Grover elbowed him. "You do that to Annabeth not to her mother." He looked red from secondhand embarrassment as Percy nodded, stood up, and shoved the ring back into his pants pocket.

Athena eyed him, amused at his stupidity. "I imagined this day quite a few times in my head. I knew it was a matter of time."

"Huh?" Percy questioned.

Athena stepped outside her house and closed the doors behind her. "Here's what I say to that Perseus Jackson: a test."

"A test? I'm really not good at tests. Couldn't I just kill a few monsters for you instead?" Percy was getting even more nervous. He didn't know what this type of test would be like. He knew he'd fail if it was anything like the ones in school. Grover stayed silent with horror.

Athena actually chuckled. "No. I've seen you kill monsters. I wish to see where your heart lies."

Percy was about to throw a right here in my chest at her but decided against it. "Okay," Percy said, unenthusiastically drawing out the A sound, "what do I have to do?"

"Close your eyes," she commanded, and the demigod obeyed. He shut his eyes and fell into darkness.

TIME SKIP

When Percy woke up, he was in a new location. He lay on his back; smooth rock lay beneath him. He felt exhausted and drained. He struggled to his feet, sleepiness weighing him down. He had no idea how he'd gotten here or what had transpired in the past 24 hours.

"Where am I?" He wondered aloud. He was standing at the edge of a cliff on a tall mountain. Below him was nothing but ground. Hot sun caused him to sweat in seconds. He pulled off his tuxedo jacket and tossed it over the edge. Why was he wearing that stupid thing anyway?

Percy's mind wandered instantly to Hera and whether she had anything to do with this. He'd stab her if she did.

"Choose. You can only save one." A booming voice echoed all around the mountain range that lay before him. It didn't sound like Hera. He was certain he'd heard it before though.

"Choose wha—" Before Percy could finish his sentence two people materialized in front of him as if by magic. Annabeth wearing her camp half-blood t-shirt and jean shorts was dangling off the cliff next to a random woman. The woman had dark brown hair and brown eyes she was crying, begging him to pull her up. Percy had never seen her before in his life.

Percy realized now what the booming voice wanted from him. They wanted him to pull one of them up and leave one to fall. The voice was asking if he valued his girlfriend's life over some stranger.

"Percy," Annabeth called. She was hanging on by her fingertips. Her curly blond hair was messy, and she looked more scared than he'd ever seen her before. "Percy, save me!"

"Annabeth." He stood frozen, unsure of what to do. He looked at both girls and assessed his own strength. He was tired but he felt confident that he had the strength to pull both up. He didn't have to listen to the voice. He'd save both of them.

He moved towards his girlfriend first, much to the other woman's dismay. She cried and called his name. Percy felt bad for her. He would save her too.

He reached down and grabbed Annabeth's arms. He managed to pull her up with ease, which encouraged his belief that he could rescue the brunette too.

When Annabeth was safe, he bent down towards the other one. She was hanging on by just a couple of fingertips. The minute he grabbed her arms all his strength depleted. She let go from the cliff to allow herself to be pulled up, but her weight was too much for Percy. She slipped through his fingers and shrieked as she plummeted toward the ground.

Percy watched in horror as she disappeared from his line of sight into a small spinning form in the distance. "NO!" He screamed.

"You chose correctly." The voice thundered and suddenly Percy wanted to murder whoever was behind it. How dare they make him choose between two living people? Whoever it was was a psychopath out to watch him burn.

Percy turned around to check on Annabeth, but she was gone. "Annabeth?"

"Choose. You can only save one."

Appearing on the cliff was two more people. Annabeth again and a random girl from camp that he recognized but had never talked to. Like before he tried to save them both by pulling Annabeth up and then the other demigod. But for a second time, the second one slipped through his fingers, and he was forced to watch her fall to her death.

On and on this went for what felt like forever. Each choice was harder than the last until he was seeing friends die. He sobbed and pleaded for it to stop but it never did. He believed he had never felt more heartbroken and guilty than in that moment.

He tried everything possible to save both. He tried pulling both up at the same time, but they wouldn't budge. Percy tried going down the mountain until he found something that resembled rope so he could hold on to the second one. Every time one fell, and every time he chose Annabeth over the other.

Connor vs. Annabeth. Annabeth won.

Chiron vs. Annabeth. Annabeth won.

Nico vs. Annabeth. Annabeth won.

Jason vs. Annabeth. Annabeth won.

Percy cried for his friends. He let tears fall until they ran dry. The voice always told him he chose correctly, tried to comfort him even. He became immune to emotion. He became numb. He stopped reacting as the choices got harder. Until...

In front of Percy was his hardest choice. On the right side hung Annabeth and on the left his mother. The woman who had given everything for Percy. EVERYTHING. He couldn't choose. He wouldn't choose.

He watched them. Both begged him for help. Both looked terrified for their lives. Percy snapped.

"No! I refuse! I'm not choosing either!" Percy gritted his teeth. "So let them go." He stared up at the sky, thinking of the most painful ways he could murder the woman up above.

The voice answered, "You choose then. Both fall."

"NO!"