A/N: SORRY FOR LEAVING YOU HANGING THERE, GUYS, AFTER PUBLISHING GONE AGAIN (RECAP OF PART 1) MY SUMMER GOT SO PACKED THAT I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR A WHILE. BUT FEAR NOT, HERE IT IS! THE OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF DOWN TO TARTARUS 2!
When Annabeth finally seemed to come through, she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here. It had all seemed to happen in slow motion. She was...she was being pulled under, and there was Percy, but the monster was smarter than that. She was drowning, she couldn't see anything, couldn't think. Then, within the blink of an eye, she was here. Wherever 'here' was. It was darker than the forest had been, and then it had been pitch black. Now, it was like there was no light in the whole world. No faint glows, no occasional beam of moonlight. "Percy?" She called out, not knowing why. Maybe they were still in the forest, and had stopped to camp. Maybe she was asleep. Maybe she had just dreamt about drowning. No, Annabeth thought. I can't convince myself that the lake had never happened. Percy won't answer, he isn't here. But, she figured, I could still be sleeping. Or hallucinating.
Annabeth took a cautious step forward. At least there was ground. She took another step. Still fine. She began to inch forward, testing out the ground, when she heard something. A scuttling noise. It reminded her of...something. Annabeth blindly put her hand on the hilt of her dagger and froze. There it was again, like keys on a keyboard, but much quieter. Like something was scuttling across the floor. Where had she heard it before? Annabeth unsheathed her knife, but didn't know where to focus on. The sound seemed to be moving, forward, behind her, to the left, to the ceiling, everywhere. Suddenly it was coming from every direction, closing in on her.
Then it dawned on her. It sounded just like that night, when her stepmom turned out the light, and they would crawl from the closet, under the door, through the walls. Like the spiders that had given her nightmares since she was seven. Annabeth dropped her knife. Frozen with fear, she stood still, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. No, it can't be...it can't... something touched her foot, started crawling up her shoe, her ankle, her legs. She tried to stay calm, telling herself It's just a dream, Annabeth, it isn't real. That's what her stepmom said too. "It's just a dream, Annabeth, go back to sleep. You're scaring your brothers." But it hadn't been, and this wasn't either.
Annabeth screamed as the spiders continued to cover her, cover her arms and neck, into her ears and mouth. Her throat tightened, and she gasped for air. She felt her neck. There seemed to be nothing there, but still she could feel it, suffocation starting to enclose her. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed. I'm going to die here, in my very own mind. Annabeth thought. There's only one thing missing. She looked up and saw her, her piercing, red eyes, her fangs, her pincers, which were reaching out towards her. It was Arachne. "Do you regret tricking me now, daughter of Athena?! You will suffer the consequences at the hands of my children!" Arachne shrieked, with a hint of delight in her voice. " You have destroyed me, my life's work, everything! But don't worry, the earth goddess will do the same for you NOW!"
Arachne lunged, and Annabeth was helpless against her. But just as the spider caught her in it's grasp, it all dissolved into sand, just like all monsters do. Arachne, the spiders, everything. She could breathe again, and started to sob as she choked for air. But it wasn't over yet. The sand that the spiders had disintegrated to started to reform, but not into the form of a spider. It shaped into the form of a very familiar sleeping woman, the earth goddess Gaea. Annabeth jumped and backed away from Gaea's swirling body. Gaea spoke, with a voice as deceiving and blood-chilling as her son's. "So, you are a hero from the prophecy which has been spoken against me. She laughed, Your mission is doomed for failure. None of your friends, nor you, will make it to the Doors of Death in time. You have only played into your own destruction. Soon, your blood will be used to fully awaken my essence, and I will take control of the world, as revenge for my son Kronos's defeat!" Gaea laughed maniacally and Annabeth trembled, seemingly unable to move or speak. She had lost control over herself, like her mind had abandoned her in her greatest time of need. She could only watch and listen.
Suddenly, Gaea exploded, showering Annabeth in the sands that had originally been Arachne and her children. Annabeth was shaken out of her daze and brushed the sand off of her, slowly standing and still shivering. It's over now, she thought, it's over. "Annabeth," a voice spoke to her, "Annabeth, it's me." Annabeth turned to see, "Luke," she said, "It...it can't be." But it was. He was standing right in front of her, most importantly with blue eyes. Luke smiled at her, his scar creasing at his temples, "But it is. I'm here now. Don't worry, Annabeth, I won't let anything hurt you anymore." Annabeth stepped back, "No. No, you won't. You're dead, Luke. You're dead, and you betrayed me. You..." Annabeth gulped, "You wouldn't help me. You're evil, you brought back Kronos, you were Kronos. Luke, how could you?! How could you do that to me, to us?!" Luke's happy expression morphed into anger, "How COULD I?! I was doing what needed to be done, and overthrow Olympus! If it wasn't for you and Percy, I would have succeeded! How could YOU do that to ME?!" With shock, Annabeth realized what Luke meant.
Annabeth had given Luke a family, someone to depend on, and she had backed away, not even tried. Hermes had been right, Annabeth could've fixed him before it was too late. But she didn't, and now Luke was dead, consumed with the thought that Annabeth had been responsible. Annabeth looked back at Luke and saw that his eyes were now flickering between blue and gold, and becoming painfully intense. "Luke, what happened? Why did this need to happen?" Luke looked at Annabeth with hatred, "Because it was necessary. Perhaps someday, someone will continue what I left behind. You can't stop it now Annabeth, it's too late." And with that, Luke walked up to Annabeth and took her shoulder in his hand, "You could've saved me, and you didn't. It's too late to save me now." Annabeth closed her eyes and bowed her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she looked up again, Luke was gone. Annabeth sat down, hugged her knees, and started to cry. She cried tears for Luke, her greatest regret that she would carry with her forever. Finally, from sheer exhaustion, she fell into a dreamless sleep, where she was finally released from her fear.
A/N: READY FOR SOME NIGHTMARES TONIGHT, EVERYBODY?
