Well you're so sick and tired of feeling so alone [W6, Sunday]

[It's late. Very, very, late. The night is cold and still and Percy can't sleep after everything that's happened. He also can't sleep knowing he still hasn't found Jason Todd.

He thinks then where Jason might go. He thinks of where he himself would go when he wanted to be alone. It's a crazy idea, and he knows Jason isn't like him, wouldn't seek refuge at the water...so he thinks of height and space. He looks out the window of the hotel, noticing there are no figures on any of the roofs of the buildings in town. It's only then he thinks another crazy thought...and begins his ascent up to the roof of the hotel.

His clothing is dirty and there are the beginnings of circles under his eyes again, but his face relaxes just slightly as he climbs and finds Jason on the hotel roof. He hauls himself up the rest of the way, wincing about his still-bruised hand but pushing forward until he's not dangling three stories up.]

If I don't make you come inside, can I join you?

But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all? [Letter, Sunday, W6]

[There are varying spots in this letter that are smeared with blood and water spots, but for the most part it’s legible.]

Annabeth,

I understand.

It’s not about bringing you back to me. It’s about me coming to you.

I understand.

Mr. Barnham and I are working together. I understand everything. This was never what I wanted, but I have to save them all. I have to help Mr. Barnham end this. And then…

…Mr. Barnham says I’m going to be the last one left. He says we have to make sure it’s me. Will told me before his blood lathered my hands that I would be the victor. Others have told me that I would be the one. I thought maybe for once I wasn’t.

But I am. I will be the one to make a choice, and I will be the one to save the world one more time.

But…this time? It means I’ll die, too. Mr. Barnham said everyone needs to die for the game to be finished, but I’ll be able to make my choice before then. I will wake up tomorrow knowing that the lives of my friends will be taken. They may not understand why. I have chosen not to tell anyone else so they don’t have to live with dread that they’re working on borrowed time.

The game will end this week. Eight others will join you on the train, and I will make the choice.

And then I will end my own life. I don’t trust the Sheriff to do this for me.

I’m scared. But it will be done.

I understand why it wasn’t personal now. I understand how you’re not freaking out about being there. I understand so many things and while sometimes I wish I didn’t, it’s for the better. Mr. Barnham has had this burden on his own for far too long. I want to support him in this final week. I will do what I can with the time I have left.

I promise you. By the time this week is over, the game will end. We will go home, and I will come back to you. I need to come back to you. I miss you. It hurts. Annabeth, it hurts and I don’t know how to make it stop. I want to make it stop. I keep thinking maybe I won’t survive, but I keep surviving anyway. And now I know why.

I’m sorry if you saw what I did to Will. This was before I knew. I wanted the monster to be slayed. Please stay away from him. He would prefer that, and I would like that, too.

Natalie and Xion are there now. I’d like them to come home with us. They can stay with my mom until we get home from the ancient lands. Jason, too. Those three deserve loving parents and a family, and I don’t want to lose them.

This letter should be more cheerful, I think. I know how things will end and I know I will see you soon. I’m excited…I’m ready to see you smile again, I’m ready to kiss you again, and I’m ready just to be again…this time, I will never let you go. We have to get home, save the world, and then you, me and the beach. Think about the ocean. Think about me.

Thinking about you is the only thing keeping me tied here. Thinking about you and the friends we’ve made will keep me here long enough.

I’m ready to end this. I hope you’re ready for me. I will be the hero, and I will come for you. Like Orpheus and Eurydice.

I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I’m sorry for the things I have to do to end this game. Forgive me when you see me.

I love you.

-Percy

Prepare for your greatest moments, prepare for your finest hour [Letter, Sunday, W6]

Sara,

Your hints confused us for a while and I don’t think Milla and Noctis understand yet, but I do. As I promised you, I am taking care of Mr. Barnham to the best of my ability.

And that is why I’m helping him with the final fight, the final mission, the burden he’s held close since who even knows when. He’s entrusted me to help him…and so I will.

Mr. Barnham says I will be the last one alive, and it’s for that reason I will do my best to help him. I will bring you all home. I will make you a sandwich as soon as I show up on the train.

What I ask of you is to please take care of the new passengers that come on the train this week. Be there to greet them and assure them. Be there to make sure they’re alright. Hug Noctis for me when he gets there, and have a drink with Milla for me. Hug Papika extra, too, and please make sure she’s taking care of herself. Damian and Jason, too.

More than that…take care of Mr. Barnham when he arrives. I think he might be afraid to see you again after all this time. Please forgive him for the secrets he’s had.

I told Annabeth about my fate. Please make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy before I get there. I’ll take a long nap on the train when I get there. I promise.

Thank you for your guidance to all of us. Thank you for being someone to look up to. I’ll see you soon.

-Percy

Here I am living a dream that I can’t hold, here I am on my own [Letter, Sunday, W6]

[This letter is slightly smeared with blood and water, but legible.]

Nat Natalie,

I told you once before that Annabeth asked Hal to install TVs to the train. I know this means you saw what happened this morning.

You only asked me not to let Jason do this. You never said I couldn’t. Plus, of course, Will himself asked me to. He said that he preferred I be the one to execute him. That Will Graham died the moment he hurt you. So I killed the imposter instead.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry if it hurt. I never wanted it to hurt, and I’m sorry you were still alone. I never wanted that. But you’re safe now. I know you are. You’re with friends, and soon you’ll be joined by other friends.

I found the piece we were looking for. Or, I guess, it found me. I know what I have to do now. I hope everyone will forgive me after this, but I have to end this game. You remember how we spoke in our second week? We talked about who would be decent enough to end the game with a good outcome and you said it was between Yuna, Xion, and me.

So many people seemed to know that it would come down to being me. Except for me. Maybe I didn’t know it, but it seems that way. We weren’t as off as we thought we were, were we? All of us have to go in order to go home.

I will fight until the end. I will be the victor. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same. Will you still like me after this? I’ll understand if you don’t. We can talk when I see you next.

[There are drawings here now, little skylines and taxis and monuments of New York.]

Keep dreaming of home, Natalie. The big skyscrapers, the city lights, feeding ducks in Central Park and the best pizza in the world. Dream of home, dream of a new life, dream of everything you want to do for yourself. Keep Xion close. Talk to Annabeth if you’re worried. Stay away from Hannibal and Will for now. Be brave in the way you’ve been since I met you.

I will try my best to do the same.

I told you I was a hero, didn’t I? Guess it’s time to be a little less humble. Is it okay to be scared? Don’t tell anyone else. It won’t do much for me now. Maybe a little fear is good. It’ll keep me alive long enough to die.

Thank you for everything you’ve done. Please remember that you matter, and please give Jason a hug for me when he shows up. Apologize for me if he figures out what’s happening. I don’t know what will happen to him, but I know he’ll be safe the moment he sees you.

And when it comes to the end…it’s okay if you close your eyes. I may have to do the same.

-Percy

I wanna go back but I can't back down, and you know me too well [Letter, Sunday, W6]

Dr. Lecter,

In theory, this letter is for you and for Will both but I don’t really think he wants to hear from me. He’s not the Will Graham I know, so I’m not sure I want to hear from him yet either.

However, I think I owe you both for multiple reasons.

The old Will Graham once said: “Neither of us have lied to you. I like you very much and I think you are a very good kid and I don't want to see you hurt. I know Hannibal feels the same way, all advice he's given you or conversations he's had with you are not out of anything but Hannibal wanting good for you.”

Despite how everything turned out, I’m kind of figuring that’s actually true. You didn’t have to give me your merit. He didn’t have to give me hints. You both didn’t have to hold my secrets. You both didn’t have to write me letters.

Neither of you had to do any of the things you’ve done, and even though I’m not sure how I feel about it now, I do know that these are the tools I needed to help me win.

It’s for that reason I will ask Hal to send you two to wherever it is you wish to go. A new country, the bottom of the ocean, I don’t know. I would ask you to stop hurting people in your new life, but I don’t know if asking will do anything at all.

And so, this letter is to thank you both for everything. The good and the bad. I’ve realized that even if I can never think of either of you the same way, you’ve forced me to change into who I am. And who I am now is the one who needs to win this game. I can only hope that I will continue to change for the better. I can only hope that your love for each other is enough to keep the two of you satisfied and save the rest of the world for a tiny bit longer.

You did what you had to do, Dr. Lecter. So did Will. And so did I. And that, I think, is enough for the three of us.

-Percy Jackson