This was the last time. The last time he would see her. The last time he would watch her smile so bright the entire room would light up. The last time he would hear her sarcastic comments that could make the coldest people snort in laughter. The last time she would hug him tightly and whisper that he was going to be okay. The last time he would be able to see those green eyes that could see straight through him. 

He waited for her, tears already forming in his eyes, but he furiously wiped them away. He would be strong for her, for Percy. 

When she appeared in front of him, Bruce could see that she, too, was already crying. Wordlessly, she took his hand and they walked together to that clearing in the woods where they first met. 

"Do you remember when you threw that rock at my head?" Percy said to him, a smirk in her voice.

Bruce frowned. "That was an accident!" he protested, but Percy just smiled and leaned into his side. He didn't complain. 

"What happened?" he asked her seriously. 

Bruce knew something had happened. She didn't really show it, but he knew something was up. They read each other so easily it scared him, but he had gotten used to it. 

Percy exhaled heavily and seemed to sag downward.

"I had to go on a mission, to blow up Luke's ship. I - um- there was another demigod with me, Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus. He -uh- didn't make it. I had to tell his girlfriend." Percy's voice broke at the very end and a couple of fresh tears rolled down her face. 

Bruce just hugged her tighter to his side and rubbed circles into her back. He knew he couldn't say anything to make her feel better, so he just let her grieve.

"It's just that, so many people are dying and I can't do anything to stop it. Zoe, Bianca, Castor, Lee, Beckendorf, and the final battle hasn't even started yet. I don't know what I'm going to do." Percy admitted her weakness even though it seemed to some people that she did

"You're going to go out there, and you're going to beat him without dying," Bruce said stubbornly. 

"I don't think I can do that. Even if I somehow find a way to beat him, I'm not going to survive," she whispered.

Bruce hugged her as hard as he could, tears streaming down his face and Percy did the same. She was sobbing into his shirt now, which only made him hold her tighter. 

"I don't want you to die," he whispered hoarsely into her shoulder. 

"Me neither," Percy let out something that was a mixture between a laugh and a sob. "But I have to. I have to save my family."

"I thought I was your family," he asked her out of desperation. He was breaking now and she could tell. 

"You are, you were my family before I had one. And that's why I need to go. If Kronos wins, there will be no saving any mortals, including you." 

So Bruce cherished his last moments with her. The feel of her soft hair, her warm body, and her sea salt smell. She kissed his cheek one last time for a few seconds and he felt her tears. 

Then he opened his eyes and she was gone, her last goodbye still floating through the air like a whisper and his arms wrapped around a person who wasn't there. His eyes hollow, he stared at the spot where the girl he loved had been only moments ago. 

A.N. Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm writing the next one really soon.