I am so, so sorry.
I can't believe it's been almost two months! I promised myself I was going to update this regularly, and then I decided I wanted to read Mark of Athena before I wrote the next chapter, and then I went and decided to actually have a life for once at the most inconvenient time!
Anyways, I was working on the next chapter for this, the big rescue scene, and I kept running into problems. Mainly, how much do I want to stick to the MoA plot, and how much do I want to make it my own? Needless to say, I'm still working on that one, but in the mean time here's a shorter chapter to tide you over.
Percy woke up screaming. This wasn't an unusual occurrence for her, what with all the demigod dreams she had to deal with, but this nightmare had been especially horrific. She didn't even try to put it out of her mind and go back to sleep, because she knew it would be pointless. She always felt too restless after dreams like this; she felt like she needed to do something about it, right now. Of course, it was four in the morning and she was trapped on a floating warship, so she didn't have too many options, but there had to be something that could be done. She ran her hands through her hair, subconsciously combing it down a little as she tried to decide what do. She thought about going to talk to Hazel, but telling her what the nightmare was about probably wasn't a good idea. Percy didn't really know Leo or Piper that well, so she didn't feel comfortable talking to them, and as smart as he was, Frank was kind of bad at giving advice and comforting people. Seeking advice from Jason was absolutely out of the question, in fact the very idea made Percy snort with laughter. Finally, she got to her feet and headed out the door. There were no other options; she had to talk to Annabeth.
She knew her friend was under a lot of strain already, so Percy really didn't want to burden her with anything else, but that didn't change the fact that Annabeth was the best person to talk to in this situation. Talking to her was easier said than done, however, since Annabeth had apparently decided to hide in a closet somewhere. Percy looked in Annabeth's cabin, in the engine room, and even down by the stables, but she couldn't find her supposed friend anywhere. It didn't help that she had to sneak around, considering she was already on Coach Hedge's list of troublemakers for "socializing after curfew". Percy still didn't understand why it was such a big deal that she had been talking to her best friend, a girl, at night when they were sure no one else would butt into their conversation (looking at you, Jason), but apparently that was beside the point. And Percy really did not want to have a cow bell tied around her neck or be introduced to that club Hedge carried. Finally, after creeping around the entire ship, it occurred to Percy that Annabeth might be on deck.
Sure enough, Percy spotted her friend's curly blonde head almost immediately, after she took in the fact that Leo was still manually steering the ship (or he was playing Mario Kart again, you never knew with him). She waved at the crazy son of Hephaestus then made her way over to the rail, saying "And what's a nice young lady like you doing out at a time like this?"
Even in the dark, Percy knew Annabeth had rolled her eyes and smiled. "Might I point out that you're out at this time, too, Seaweed Brain?"
"You certainly may, Smart Ass. I, however, am neither nice nor a lady."
Annabeth laughed out loud this time, and punched her on the arm (not hard enough to leave too noticeable a bruise). Percy grinned and punched her friend back, but then sobered a little. "Seriously, why aren't you asleep? Bad dreams?"
The blonde nodded. "They aren't even the kind of dreams that are useful, like the ones that provide some sort of insight into what I'm supposed to do. They're literally just bad dreams."
Percy looked her friend over and noticed the bags under her eyes. She knew that there was something else going on, something that Annabeth wasn't telling her. But she also knew that Annabeth would tell you what she wanted to tell you when she wanted to tell you, and if she wasn't telling you then it was for a good reason (gods, Percy needed to get more sleep). So as much as she wanted to pester Annabeth about whatever it was that was bothering her, Percy knew it wouldn't be a good idea.
"I had one of those insightful dreams earlier," Percy started. "They're not that great. In fact, it was absolutely terrifying." Annabeth gave her one of her "Did you really just say that?" looks, which Percy took as an invitation to continue. "It was about…well, it was about Nico. I saw him lying in a room, a dirt room, with no windows or doors or anything. He didn't look good, Annabeth, he really didn't. Then Gaea started talking to me, and she said something about destroying Rome in three days, and how she hoped that Nico could last that long, and a bunch of other horrible things." She rushed through the explanation, saying it almost all in one breath, and then waited almost fearfully for Annabeth to say something.
Instead of replying her friend just frowned, muttering words like "trap" and "three days" and "bait" to herself. Percy finally interrupted this rambling. "Look, it doesn't matter why Gaea kidnapped him, all that matters is that we save him. Annabeth, can we even make it to Rome in three days?"
Annabeth hesitated and seemed to be thinking very hard about what to say next. They had already had so many close calls on this trip, run into so many problems (like soul-possessing demons and giant frothy shrimp) that they were all honestly beginning to wonder if this war would be over before it even really began. And everything was only supposed to get more dangerous as they got closer to Rome. It seemed unlikely that they could ever make it to the city that quickly, much less figure out how to save the son of Hades from the clutches of Gaea and make it out alive. Both girls knew all this, but Annabeth still tried to reassure her friend. "We'll find a way, Percy. We always do."
Percy nodded, staring into the distance and not even noticing the beautiful starry view. Annabeth smiled a little as she asked, "You really like him, don't you?"
The black haired girl coughed and spluttered, finally managing to compose herself enough to stutter: "Wh…Wha…Who? Nico? Who told you…What do you…He's just...I'm just...What are you…What?"
And as Annabeth doubled over, laughing hysterically at the flustered look on Percy's bright red face, Annabeth remembered again why she had missed her best friend so much.
I love Percy and Annabeth friendship! Gah!
Anyways, this chapter is shorter than I wanted it to be, but since it doesn't look like the next bit will be done for a while I thought I'd go ahead and post this.
Oh yeah, and I don't own the characters or the book or mythology or...
