A/N: I read "The Lost Hero," and I just couldn't get this out of my head. It's the first time I've posted something that wasn't Stargate-related, so definitely my first try at a Percy Jackson story (and it DEFINITELY has spoilers for TLH, so if you haven't read it, don't read this!). Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Percy Jackson universe; I've just high-jacked them briefly. And hopefully haven't destroyed them too much…
Well, this could probably have gone better, Rachel thought, surveying the Roman and Greek camps before her. Over half the demigods on each side had weapons poised, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Rachel didn't need the power of prophecy to see this wasn't going to end well.
Admittedly, it hadn't started well either. Rachel liked to think of herself as a pretty go-with-the-flow type of person; her inner artist didn't get worked up over much, and her inner Oracle knew getting worked up never changed things. So when she stepped off the Argo II on the shores of the Roman camp, she merely held her hands up in surrender at the swords being shoved in front of her face.
Some of the other Greeks weren't quite as laid back, however. Travis and Connor had smirked at each other before ducking simultaneously, forcing their Roman attackers to plow into each other with a nasty CRACK of their legionnaires' helmets. Clarisse had whipped out her electric spear to take down a Roman only to be tackled from behind, leaving her cursing (literally cursing, of course; if Ares had been listening, the Romans would have faced some extremely nasty fates). Leo had refused to even leave the boat, muttering about how he didn't trust the Romans to show Festus the respect he deserved.
But then Lupa had arrived, and Chiron had started to explain, and the giant she-wolf had called off her campers (who had stood down without putting away their weapons, which really only allowed the Greeks the opportunity to draw theirs in return). Now the two sides were spoiling for a fight, but at least Lupa had gotten rid of the swords held against everyone's throat.
Well, almost everyone.
"Halt!" she barked at the small, dark-haired boy in front of Rachel, who was one of the few who had actually started to sheathe his weapon. He looked surprised. Clearly he didn't consider Rachel a huge threat. Not that it mattered, she mused. She wasn't armed or anything, but his sword looked an awful lot like celestial bronze. It almost would have been fun to see the look on his face if he'd tried to take a swing at her and it went right through.
Lupa moved to take the boy's place, sniffing Rachel from head to toe. "This one's a mortal," she said with clear distaste. "We don't allow mortals within our borders. A policy I thought we shared," the wolf said disapprovingly, glancing at Chiron.
The centaur merely inclined his head in acknowledgment. "With very rare exceptions," he said. "Such as Rachel. She is our Oracle."
"Um, hi!" Rachel said brightly, throwing in an awkward wave for effect. "It's really nice to meet you!"
She cringed inwardly as she realized how lame that sounded. Oddly enough, "How Proper Mortals Greet the Leader of a Rival Demigod Camp" was one of the few courses not offered at the Clarion Ladies Academy. If Lupa didn't kill her, Rachel was so making sure it was added to the lesson plans.
Lupa was still looking at her distastefully (although there might have been some grudging respect in there when Chiron mentioned her Oracle position). "Your last Oracle was decidedly less...bubbly."
"Well, yes, turning into a rotting mummy thanks to a curse from Hades tends to suck the fun right out of your afterlife," Annabeth muttered. Rachel had almost forgotten she was there. Annabeth hadn't said a word since getting off the boat, and Rachel wasn't sure whether it was encouraging or worrisome that her friend was making snide comments.
Lupa turned her attention to the blonde, who met her calculating gaze with one of her own. "A daughter of Minerva, I take it?"
"Annabeth Chase," she said brusquely, as though introductions weren't important to her. Still, as she said her name, Rachel noticed a couple Romans murmur to one another and start to point. Annabeth didn't react, however, other than to set her jaw and add, "Daughter of Athena."
This brought mixed reactions from the crowd. The Greeks began to smile and nod, while the Romans' glares turned even harder. Did anyone at this camp smile?
Lupa sounded almost amused as she responded dryly, "Yes, I see that."
"So you're the famous Annabeth?" one of the Roman girls said harshly, her dark brown hair just brushing the shoulders of the armor above her purple t-shirt. Wouldn't having your hair down be a liability in battle? Rachel wondered absently, abruptly recognizing this as an effect of spending all her free time with ADHD kids. She shook her head, focusing on the Roman girl again. "I was expecting someone a little more...impressive."
Annabeth's eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything. Since Annabeth was far too proud to do it, Rachel gave one last desperate search through the crowd of Romans, hoping to see a certain son of Poseidon rushing to his girlfriend's defense. Just like the last fifty times, however, there was nothing.
"Wait," said Rachel suddenly, finally recognizing the meaning of the words. "How do you know Annabeth?"
The girl glared at her haughtily. "Perseus had a dream." The disdain in the girl's voice was clear, but it didn't stop the Greeks from snickering.
"Guys, I think we're in the wrong place! Do we know a Perseus?" Travis asked loudly.
Connor smirked. "Sounds like someone who could benefit from a good dose of itching powder up his-"
"Connor!" Chiron admonished him, but Rachel got the suspicious feeling he was trying to hide his own amusement. It was understandable. Percy just didn't carry himself like a "Perseus."
"Perhaps it would be best if we all got to know each other a bit better," Chiron continued. "For example, I myself—"
"I don't care about your life story, centaur," the Roman girl snapped, tossing her hair back to emphasize the point. Rachel caught herself smirking as she realized the gesture was entirely too reminiscent of the Aphrodite cabin. A daughter of Venus? It would certainly explain the free-flowing hair combined with battle attire.
And the lack of forethought behind her statement. Although Chiron merely inclined his head in acknowledgement, Lupa and most of the Greek campers immediately turned to the girl to demand she show the Greek leader some respect.
All fell silent, however, when Annabeth angrily pushed her way through the crowd of armed Romans to point her own blade at the girl's chest. A couple Romans tried to intercept her, but she took care of them easily; most were too stunned to do anything but watch.
"Don't you dare speak to Chiron like that!" Annabeth yelled. Rachel noticed with some satisfaction that the Roman girl was flinching now, although she still defiantly faced Annabeth's wrath. "He's been saving demigods since before your Rome was even founded, and he deserves better than arrogant insolence!"
By the end of her short speech, at least three other Roman campers had their swords pointed at Annabeth's back, awaiting orders to strike. Perhaps she shouldn't have used "Rome" as a dirty word, Rachel mused wryly.
Still, the two camps needed to cooperate. Rachel hurriedly gestured to Jason, who had been standing on the prow of the ship with Leo ever since they'd landed. He'd seemed dazed at seeing the camp again, and Rachel imagined the memories must be overwhelming. Enough was enough, though. Her sympathy only extended as far as her friend wasn't in mortal danger.
Jason got the hint, finally stepping off the ship and eliciting gasps from nearly all the Roman campers.
"Guys, put down the swords," he ordered, but no one listened. The Romans were still staring at him as if he were a ghost, and apparently they didn't take orders from ghosts. Jason glanced back at Piper nervously, and she quickly stepped forward.
"Put down the weapons, everyone. We're all friends."
Rachel could feel the charmspeak washing over her, and she had a sudden desire to hug the Roman boy in front of her. She shook it off, but she noticed some of the other kids weren't so used to Piper's gift. Romans and Greeks alike were suddenly embracing each other as long-lost friends.
Except for the Roman girl and Annabeth, of course. Because that would have been far too easy, Rachel thought sarcastically. Both still had weapons out and pointed at each other's throats. The girl was definitely Venus', and Annabeth was definitely ticked. Nothing less could break the spell of charmspeak.
Piper gave Jason a shrug, and Jason went back into command mode. "Okay, so we haven't really had a chance to get to know you, or for you to get to know us. Naturally everyone's going to be a little nervous. So the first order of business is to sit down together and share a little bit about who we are and why we're here."
The Roman campers all seemed to think this was a perfectly sensible solution, despite bristling at Chiron's suggestion just moments before. Apparently ghost or not, Jason was well-respected.
"Great! Let's go to the arena and sit down, and we can tell you why we think you need to team up with us." Jason motioned to a circular stone building to the left, and everyone began moving toward it.
"Wait!" demanded the Venus girl. She and Annabeth had remained motionless, and even now their gazes didn't waver from one another. "You keep saying 'we'! Have you forgotten which side you're on, Jason Grace?"
Murmurs swept through the Romans, and Jason responded by walking over to the girl and swiftly sweeping her legs out from under her. She fell, and as she did Jason took his sword and held it just above her chest.
"We're all on the same side," he said calmly. "But I won't let you up until you agree to come with me and at least listen to what we have to say."
Rachel grinned. She hadn't met anyone yet who could beat Jason in a fight, if you could really call it that. No one except Percy, maybe, but—
"Wait!" Rachel stopped the group this time. "Percy Jackson! Where is he?"
Annabeth's arm shook slightly, but Rachel pretended not to notice. If Annabeth couldn't get the guts to ask, she would.
"Perseus has been on a mission the past several days," Lupa replied. She hesitated briefly before adding, "He was due back a week ago."
The Greek campers gasped, and for a moment Rachel was afraid they'd be pulling out their weapons again to demand revenge. But again Jason stepped in, clearing his throat loudly to pull all the attention back to him.
"This sounds like one of the many things we should be discussing right now, instead of standing here ready to fight. Come on." He glanced down at the girl beneath him, who was still eyeing his sword. "Are you ready to listen?"
With one last nasty glance at Annabeth, the girl nodded. "Fine, but I won't sit next to her."
'That's fine," Annabeth said shortly. "I won't be there." She sheathed her weapon and started to walk away.
Jason caught her by the wrist, and her grey eyes flashed dangerously at him. "Just because you're Thalia's brother doesn't mean I won't take you down like anyone else," she warned him, jerking her arm away from his grasp.
"We need you," Jason said, low enough only Rachel and those nearest caught it. "You promised you'd be here to help."
"I promised," Annabeth hissed, "to be here to help you with Percy. No Percy, no me."
"Annabeth—"
She cut him off. "Look, go have your little powwow. If you need me, I'll be in the woods," she said, indicating a patch of trees in the distance.
"That would not be wise. The woods are fully stocked with all manner of deadly creatures," Lupa warned.
"I can take care of myself," Annabeth growled, daring anyone to disagree. Rachel couldn't imagine anyone would; even the Romans looked frightened by her sudden ferocious attitude. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some deadly creatures to confront."
Before anyone could stop her, Annabeth was running to the woods. Jason and Clarisse both started to follow, but Chiron held them back.
"Perhaps we should allow Annabeth some alone time," he said. "I fear having her at our counsel right now would be…counterproductive. Now then, shall we visit this lovely arena of yours?" he asked, deferring to Lupa.
"We shall," she said. She clicked her tongue twice. "Come, cubs."
To their credit, none of the Greeks laughed at her name for the Roman campers. All moved together in a group toward the arena, but Rachel went the opposite direction.
"My dear, what do you think you're doing?" Chiron asked. Rachel turned guiltily.
"I just want to make sure she's all right. You know as well as I do that she hasn't been the most stable person these days." Absently Rachel wondered if the use of "stable" around a centaur was offensive. She should really be spending less time with these demigods.
Chiron sighed. "Your concern is admirable, but while I confess I too share that concern, I cannot allow a mortal and an Oracle no less to venture into the woods unaided."
"Exactly. If I were going to die, I'm sure I would have had some sort of premonition about it!" she said brightly. When Chiron narrowed his eyes at this, she tried a different track. "Look, I'll be fine. I've been taking defense lessons with the other campers, and I'm not going to seek out trouble. I just want to follow her and make sure she's okay."
"Again, admirable, but—"
Rachel could sense he was weakening, which meant he must have been much more concerned than he let on. "If I run into anything I can't handle, I'll yell for Annabeth and run away. I've been in Capture the Flag games before, Chiron. I'll just follow her, that's it."
She gave him the most reassuring smile she could muster, and after a minute, Chiron finally relented.
"All right," he said with a heavy sigh. "But if you're not back in an hour, I will send someone in after you."
"Thank you!" Rachel stepped on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. Chiron just shook his head with a slight smile.
"One hour!" he called out after her as she raced toward the woods.
Although Annabeth had a significant head start, Rachel caught up with her easily. Just inside the woods, Annabeth was carefully examining the trees in front of her. Rachel hung back, careful to stay out of sight. Perhaps Annabeth had taken Lupa's warnings to heart.
Finally Annabeth nodded her head and began striding purposefully through the brush. She must have been truly upset, because she wasn't even trying to limit the amount of noise she was making as she rushed ahead. Periodically Annabeth would stop, squint at the ground or look up at the sky, and then continue in a different direction. Rachel stayed back, making sure Annabeth couldn't see her. She was rapidly deciding she needn't have bothered, though. Annabeth seemed completely unaware of her surroundings.
Rachel stopped herself as Annabeth paused yet again. "Needn't have bothered"? That school was doing far more damage to her than she'd thought.
Annabeth was taking longer than usual at this stop, and Rachel was just about to announce her presence and ask if she was okay when Annabeth broke into a run. Stunned, Rachel took a few seconds before she followed, afraid her friend was more unbalanced than she'd assumed. To find your boyfriend only to be told he's been missing for a week had to mess with your mental health.
Rachel had never considered herself out of shape, but she was panting heavily by the time Annabeth finally stopped. She was in front of a grassy clearing, and Rachel could hear the sounds of a stream gurgling. With the sunlight streaming through the trees, she could see why Annabeth would choose such a serene place to get away from the chaos of the camp. But how had she known it was here?
Annabeth took a tentative step into the clearing, and Rachel heard the girl's breath hitch slightly. The calming silence of the woods was suddenly broken by the last thing Rachel expected to hear.
"Wise Girl!"
Rachel's brain raced to process what happened next. Annabeth was running, even faster than she had been through the words, until she collided with a very familiar black-haired boy. Both of them were crying, and Rachel was surprised to notice her face was wet as well. Apparently her eyes worked a little faster than her brain did.
"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth was pulling away, swiping furiously at her face. Percy wouldn't let her go, however, and he was still tightly gripping her arms. "I can't believe—I thought maybe…"
She trailed off as a fresh bout of tears hit her, and Rachel nearly laughed at the panicked look on Percy's face. Clearly his time with the Romans had not included instructions on dealing with crying girls.
He swept her back into his arms and murmured something Rachel couldn't hear. This time Annabeth did laugh, and she punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" Percy exclaimed, rubbing his arm.
"Oh, be quiet. I know you're invincible." It looked like Annabeth was trying to scowl at him, but she wasn't having much success.
"Well, keep it to yourself. I don't even want to think about what the Romans would put me through if they knew," Percy said dryly. "And I'm pretty sure you said you'd be here like a week ago."
Annabeth sighed. "The Argo II broke down off the Baja Peninsula. You didn't have to hide out in the woods, you know."
"I was giving you another week before I gave in and looked for a real bed," he admitted. "But you have no idea how hard it is to sit in camp and pretend I don't care if I ever see you again."
"Cheesy, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, reaching out to punch him again. The smile lighting up her face dimmed briefly. "And I think I have some idea."
They stared at each other for a full minute as if afraid to blink. Abruptly Percy reached forward and grabbed her hand, leading her to sit on a log in the middle of the clearing. Rachel wanted to look away and give them privacy, but she couldn't. What kind of idiots kept this sort of thing from their best friend?
Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth as she laid her head on his shoulder, but that lasted only a few seconds before she sat up straight again.
"Nice to have you back too," Percy commented sarcastically, but he was watching with interest as she searched through her pockets.
"Sorry, but I promised your mother…" she trailed off as she pulled a blue-wrapped package out of her armor. Rachel stared. Since when did Greek armor come with storage space? It was clear Annabeth had been planning this for awhile, and Rachel could feel herself becoming just a little annoyed.
Percy's eyebrows knit in confusion. "What's this?"
"It's from your mom and Paul," Annabeth explained. "I…I went to go see them when I got your message. I hope that's okay." She seemed almost anxious, watching his expression.
Percy paused in opening the present to grab her hand. "Thanks. I wanted to talk to them myself, but Venus—Aphrodite," he corrected himself, "would only agree to carry the message to you. I guess there's finally an upside to starring in her twisted soap opera," he commented wryly.
"I'm sure there'll be a catch. There always is. Now open it! I've been waiting two weeks to see what's inside!"
Percy grinned, tearing aside the wrapping paper with gleeful abandon. The box inside contained a dozen cookies, chocolate chip and bright blue. Percy grinned even harder, stuffing one in his mouth before offering the box to Annabeth.
She declined. "Thanks, but your mother stuffed me so full of cookies when I visited that I don't think I'll ever look at them the same way again."
Percy let out a content sigh as he set the cookies down. "Thanks again, Wise Girl. So what's our plan now?" He looked at her expectantly.
Annabeth didn't meet his gaze. "You know the Romans will never follow you if they think you're too involved with a Greek girl. The Romans are already showing signs they don't trust Jason as much as they did, just because he's associated with us. So I don't think anything's changed."
"Wait, are you serious?" Percy asked, rising to his feet indignantly. "You're really going to sit here and tell me you've had six months to come up with a plan, and your plan is that we go out there and pretend we don't know each other?"
"Look, Percy, if there were any other way…" Annabeth looked like she was going to cry again, and Percy's anger quickly dissipated.
He gave a frustrated sigh. "I know, I know. It's only for a couple more weeks anyway. But there's no way I'm going to be able to pretend for as long as it takes to get to Greece."
Annabeth drew another breath, still staring resolutely at the ground. "Well, actually, I don't think that should be too hard. I'm not going."
Percy stared at her, and Rachel flinched as though she could feel his anger physically. "What do you mean, you're not going?" he demanded.
"I mean I'm not going," Annabeth said, finally rising to look him in the eye. "Chiron and I discussed it. I'm not one of the seven most powerful demigods. I'll be leading the reinforcements to Greece after I stay here and work on training the two groups."
Rachel frowned. She'd known about the reinforcements; Chiron had brought far too many campers to be concerned only with the seven-person mission. But she and Chiron had talked as well, after she'd had a vision of Annabeth at the Parthenon. Annabeth was the only one who'd actually been to Greece. She was supposed to lead them!
"Look, whether I go or not is immaterial," Annabeth continued. "You can't let them know you remember me. They're already looking at me like I'm something a wolf dragged in. If they knew you still…"
"Loved you?" Percy supplied, staring at the trees above her head. His face had turned an embarrassed shade of pink, and Rachel fought to suppress a giggle. Boys had such a hard time with their emotions.
Annabeth seemed to share that difficulty, however. "Um, yeah, that." Her face was even brighter than Percy's. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, until this mission is complete, we have to make sure everyone can work together. And I think that's going to mean you ignore me, and I ignore everyone with a purple t-shirt."
Percy laughed. "Was it really that bad?"
"I had four swords aimed at me," Annabeth said with a raised eyebrow. "You tell me."
Percy laughed again, and Rachel realized how much she'd missed the sound. And how much she'd missed the smiling, joking Annabeth she saw in front of her. She just watched them for a few minutes, basking in the glow of her reunited friends. They settled into their normal routine, talking and smiling, calling each other names.
Observing them ("spying" was such an ugly word), Rachel came to a conclusion. No matter their reasons, she was not going to let them just sweep this under the rug and pretend it didn't exist. Rachel Elizabeth Dare had not spent an entire year alternating finishing school with counseling a depressed daughter of Athena to watch her friends make complete morons of themselves. If they were happy, they were going to stay happy, and that was that. All it would take was a very public vision; maybe a touch of "if they continue to deny their love, all is lost!" dramatics. It couldn't be any more devastating than watching the two of them pretend they didn't know each other.
Besides, the world was in danger every other week anyway. They'd have plenty of other opportunities to be self-sacrificing idiots.