Chapter Two: Annabeth
x x x
Annabeth knelt down and touched the grass of the field. It was a large space with no one in sight, thanks to the 'persuasion' of her companions, Jason, Piper, Frank, and Grover. She rubbed a hand against her pale face, moving it up to run it through her honey blonde curls. Jason stood at her shoulder, his arms crossed, staring out at the battlefield as if he expected someone to attack them. Annabeth wouldn't be surpruised. The Almighty had warned them to be careful, something that was rarely said. The last time an angel got that warning, it was torn to pieces.
Jason was one of the older angels, and was close to members of the Almighty's inner circle. Annabeth didn't understand why he chose angels like her as his companions, but she was glad. Because of her youth and inexperience, it was nice to have someone around who knew what he was doing. The angel was tall and muscular, and his ice blue eyes could freeze a person in their tracks. He had corn-blonde hair and light skin. His white wings curled around his body, protecting himself from potential threats. Annabeth's own wings were slightly extended behind her, serving as a shield, but also tucked back enough to be out of the way.
Annabeth fingered her bow, which was slung over her shoulder. Her golden quiver hung from her back. She preferred to use a dagger, but she decided that for this mission, a bow and arrows would be more effective. She still had her golden dagger strapped to her thigh, though.
"Do you see any signs of the artifact?" Jason questioned quietly.
Annabeth shook her head. "I can sense a disturbance here. I can't tell where."
Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Grover had been sent to the Chickamauga Battlefield to find an artifact that, according to the Almighty, was vitally important. Annabeth couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in her chest as she thought of how she had been chosen for such an important mission. Well, she was one of the best light manipulators in Heaven. She couldn't fight very well, but she could use the ability belonging to all angels of controlling the heavenly light emitted by the Almighty and Heaven to do different tasks especially well. Here, she was using the light to find the artifact. All around her, there were wispy trails of sparkling mist- the heavenly light. As Annabeth's hands and fingers bent and twisted, the light formed different shapes, twirling and circling across the battlefield, searching for the targeted object.
"Hurry up," Frank called. "We don't have much time." The angel was ethnically Chinese, but that didn't mean much in Heaven. An angel could have any appearence, and no discrimination existed. The body of an angel was a shell. Frank had closely cropped dark hair- a color that was strange for an angel- and light brown eyes. His skin was snow pale. He was tall and extremely muscular. He held a longsword in two hands, his wings tight against his back and his muscles taught, preparing for a fight.
At his side was his companion, Hazel. Her light tan skin and caramel colored hair contrasted sharply with her stark white wings. She was younger than Annabeth, in both appearence and age. Her caramel colored eyes flicked around the clearing nervously. This was her first important mission. In her hands she clutched tightly a golden spatha. She hovered around her companion, looking to the more experienced Frank for guidance and protection.
For angels, companionship was a form of what humans called matrimony, with a few drastic changes. Rather than having a husband and wife relationship, two angel companions were seen as a pair of loving souls. Their relationship was entirely based on companionship and affection rather than lust and passion. It was kind of beautiful to see, and Annabeth was envious of her friends that had companions.
Like Jason, whose companion, Piper, was currently watching the North side of the battlefield with another of the angels, Grover. Piper was Native American in appearence, with light tan skin, light brown hair with choppy layers, and sharp cheekbones, jaw, chin, and nose. Her eyes shined a multitude of different colors. She stood tall and proud as she watched diligently for threats.
Grover, however, looked like a bundle of nerves. He was slumped over in a pose that clearly read: 'I'm not a threat! Don't kill me!' The angel had curly red hair paired with a goatee at the end of his long chin. He was extremely skinny, which made his elbows and knees look huge. His long limbs gave him his own unique walking style. His fingers were tight around his crossbow.
Annabeth huffed in frustration. "I can't find it!"
Jason put a hand on her shoulder. "Concentrate, Annabeth. You can do it. I know you can."
Breathing out, Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut, using her immortal powers to try and locate the source of the disturbance. Something immortal had interfered here, definitely, but Annabeth needed to find where. Finally, she locked onto a location: one of the stone monuments. "There." She pointed.
"Great, Annabeth," Jason said, flashing her an appreciative smile as he spread his wings and flew over to the spot she'd indicated.
Annabeth smiled in triumph, glad that she hadn't failed the Almighty. She wasn't paying enough attention- that's why she didn't notice the throwing star flying at her that embedded itself in her back.
x x x
There must have been some sort of spell on the throwing star, because it hurt like hell (Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Annabeth laughed at the pun). The blonde angel was immediately on alert, tucking her wings around her protectively and notching a golden arrow. She turned in the direction that the weapon had come from, where five figures were emerging from the trees. From the black wings attatched to their backs and their dark complexions and outfits, Annabeth could tell that they were demons or fallen angels.
Annabeth prepared for them to attack again, but they kept approaching- another ten, twenty, thirty feet closer, until they were in a line facing Annabeth, who had been joined by Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Grover.
She scanned over the demons. The two in the center were the famous fallen angel twins: Percy and Thalia. They were well-known in Heaven. Angels scoffed at the fact that while one twin fell for love, the other had fallen for its opposite- hate. It was even more of a big deal since Percy had been one of the Trinity at the time: three angels that were the Almighty's closest supporters. He'd even been the immediate successor for the archangel Michael. At the time, it had been Percy, Raphael, and Hylla. Percy, the Protector, Raphael, the Healer, and Hylla, the Messenger. After Percy's fall, Hylla took his seat, and Hylla's seat was taken by Annabeth's brother, Malcolm. Raphael, who faded soon after, was replaced by Hylla's sister, Reyna. The new Trinity tried to restore its former prestige, but it was a hard task when one of their very own members had fallen to the Dark One's temptations.
Percy and Thalia were both tall and lithe, with pale skin, dark, brooding stares, and messy dark hair. Thalia's was short and spiky, down to her chin, while Percy's was shorter and messier. Percy had dark emerald eyes, while Thalia had midnight blue. Both wore all black clothing: Thalia wore some mortal metal band t-shirt and heavily distressed skinny jeans and combat boots while Percy wore a black t-shirt under a leather jacket with jeans and combat boots. Percy had his dual katanas drawn, and looked like he was poised for a fight. Thalia twirled her spear between her fingers, and she had a black shield strapped to her back.
Annabeth could feel the emerald gaze scanning over her face, possibly trying to figure out who she was. If he knew what Malcolm looked like, it wouldn't be hard for the demon to figure out who Annabeth was. That wasn't a good thing- all immortals knew that, despite the irrationality of it, Percy hated Malcolm with a passion, as he was the one to replace him in the Trinity. There was no doubt that Percy would take his anger out on Annabeth.
Annabeth recognized another demon, another member of The Sins, the patron of wrath: Nico. He was old, even older than Jason. He glared at the angels before him murderously with sunken black eyes. His own dual shortswords hung casually at his sides, as if the angels in front of him weren't a concern.
The other one to his left was Clarisse, the patron of greed of the Sins. She was a tall, tan, muscular girl with straight russet hair pulled back in a professional ponytail. Her dark brown eyes glinted wickedly as she brandished a great sword the size of Hazel. A multitude of weapons were strapped to her body.
The other demon Annabeth didn't recognize. He looked like a Latino elf with a pointy, mischevious face and a dark complexion. With his powerful company, he was easily overlooked.
"Begone, Demons," Jason commanded, taking control. He brandished his golden gladius to back up his order. "You have no business here."
Smirks appeared on Percy, Thalia, and Clarisse's faces. A full-blown grin appeared on the Latino demon's face, while Nico remained impassive.
"I believe we do," Percy said slyly. Thalia chuckled, leaning against Percy with an elbow on his shoulder to keep herself propped up. Her midnight blue eyes twinkled wickedly as she looked at the angels before her.
Annabeth couldn't help but eye the pair of katanas Percy held in his hands. Percy had been known for being the best fighter in Heaven. Of course he was- after all, he had filled the seat of Michael, the Protector, a position given only to the most powerful angel most capable of defending Heaven. Thalia, Clarisse, and Nico, along with Percy, were all part of the Sins, and their fighting skills would also be formidable. The Latino Annabeth knew nothing about, which made him dangerous, but if his company was any indication, he would be a good fighter. Facing them, even with Jason, was daunting.
Thalia played around with her spear as she snickered. "Thanks for finding the artifact for us, by the way. We really appreciate you doing all the hard work. I really hate work. It's exhausting."
"You're not going to get it," Annabeth spoke up for the first time, jutting out her chin and standing tall, much to the demons' amusement.
"And who's going to stop us, Doll?" Percy drawled, full-blown smirk evident on his face as he looked Annabeth up and down. "You?"
Annabeth stared defiantly at the demon. She wasn't sure if she could win this battle, but she would sure as heck die trying. Well- immortals didn't really die, not exactly. They did die, but afterwards, as far as anyone knew, they would no longer exist. They didn't have a human soul that could move on to the afterlife. Immortals referred to it as fading.
"We'll give you one last warning," Jason interrupted their stare down. "Leave, or we'll make you."
The demons seemed to consider this, but Annabeth knew it was a joke to them.
"Eh… nah," Thalia said finally, grinning wickedly.
And the two sides sprung into action, meeting in a flurry of clashing of metal.
x x x
Annabeth knew that she was screwed when Percy charged her. Nico and Thalia both charged Jason, with Grover stepping up to help him. The Latino Elf attacked Hazel, while Clarisse went for Piper.
That was all that Annabeth could think of before she was overwhelmed, completely focusing on protecting herself. She could fight, but not against someone like Percy. She gave up on trying to use her bow and arrows, but instead used her bow by itself to block Percy's katanas. He landed a few lucky shots on Annabeth, cutting her cheek and shoulder, but Annabeth managed to pull an arrow from her quiver and lodge it in his collarbone. He roared in pain before attacking with renewed vigor.
Annabeth didn't stand a chance. Within a minute, she had a katana through her stomach. Percy had one hand on her shoulder and the other clutching the weapon currently impaling her. Annabeth was currently putting all her weight on the demon. Her chin rested on his shoulder, and she slumped forward so that her torso was resting on his. Percy's head was directly next to hers, and Annabeth could feel his breath on her face, which caused her to shudder. She hated this position, slumped over onto the fallen angel, but she had a blade through her stomach. There wasn't much she could do.
"Just admit it: you couldn't stop me, Sweetheart," Percy breathed in her ear. His words were soft, but had a vicious bite to them. Annabeth shuddered as she felt his warm breath on her face again. It smelled like cigarettes and alcohol. "Valiant effort, though."
Annabeth managed to spit out through gritted teeth, "You can go screw yourself."
Percy chuckled darkly, moving his body even closer to the angel's on top of him. His lips touched Annabeth's cheek lightly, making her squirm with disgust. "I'd mush rather prefer it if you did instead." He tilted his head closer towards Annabeth's, his tounge tracing a line along the edge of her earlobe and down the beginning of her jaw. He bit down sharply on her neck, causing Annabeth to grit her teeth at the pain and struggle more.
"I see now why you're the patron of Lust," Annabeth snarled. "It really suits you."
Percy stiffened under her, his aura shifting. Annabeth could tell that she'd angered him. She hoped that he'd stop touching her. Even getting stabbed was better than… whatever this was.
Percy chuckled darkly. "I think lust would suit you, also," he breathed, his head ducking to Annabeth's neck. "Should we find out?" He closed his lips around Annabeth's neck, his teeth digging into her skin again.
Annabeth shuddered in disgust at his touch. It burned where he'd touched, but not like she'd heard things like kisses and love bites were supposed to: instead, it felt like a fiery pit of hate and loathing. She didn't understand how someone who used to be one of the highest angels in all of Heaven had become… this.
"Get away from her!"
Annabeth was never so happy to hear Grover's voice in her life. At his yell, Percy growled, but pulled away from her, letting her slide from her spot leaning on his shoulder to the ground. He pulled out his katana from her stomach, making her shriek in pain.
Percy looked down at Annabeth, his eyes predatory, before turning and smirking at Grover. He looked sideways at Thalia, who was dangling a gaudy ornamental necklace emblazoned with the largest diamond Annabeth had ever seen. The monument was in shards scattered around the demon's feet. The demons have the artifact. They'd lost.
"Let's get outta here," the fallen angel grinned.
All five demons spread their midnight wings and took into the sky. Annabeth felt her body being jostled as her bow and arrows were taken. Piper sent multiple arrows in quick succession up at the retreating demons, landing a few on the Latino and Clarisse, who moved to protect Thalia and the artifact in her hands, but not enough to stop them. None of them was in good enough condition to pursuit. All the angels could do was stare up at the demons bitterly.
They turned back to Annabeth and Jason, both of whom were wounded. Piper went immediately to Jason, while Grover and Hazel helped Annabeth. Frank hovered awkwardly.
Using their powers, the angels were able to heal Jason and at least stabilize Annabeth.
"We've got to go," Grover said grimly, spreading his wings. "She's not doing well."
Frank gathered Annabeth in his arms. With that, the angels took of wordlessly and grimly. None of them wanted to be the one to tell the Almighty that they had failed.
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edited aug 23, 2014
disclaimer: i do not own percy jackson
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