PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS
Return of the Lost Hero

A/N: Finally, after days, weeks, and maybe even months, I now present to you the fourth chapter ^_^ Enjoy reading! (For new readers, this may contain OOC and AU. This chapter is in Annabeth's POV)


CHAPTER IV - We plan a ride on Atlas

"Would you please excuse me for a while? I'll be training the demigods now", Chiron galloped out of the Big House in a hurry.

Luke Perseus ran towards me and hugged me. He raised his head and looked at me. "I can't believe it, mom", he exclaimed, "I can't believe that I'm that greatest hero of all time that you always spoke of!"

I blushed. My cheeks turned bright pink. I buried my head into my son's shoulders to hide it. I heard Nico standing up. "The greatest hero, eh?" he spoke sarcastically, "Did your mom read you a book about Percy, Luke?"

My son shifted his face to Nico's direction. "No, mom told me she memorized all of the stories", he replied.

"That's cool"

I released my son from my deep hug. I was not blushing now. I carried my son on my lap. Thalia sat on my left. Nico sat on the floor in front of us, on the other end of the center table. "We need to go to the Underworld", he said with courage in his tone.

I didn't know why we needed to go there. Somehow, I felt that we would do something dangerous. That may be the reason why Chiron was worried about my son. He knew this all along, that Nico would do something dangerous in his father's kingdom. "The Underworld is a dangerous place", Rachel spoke.

"Don't worry Rachel, I'm a son of Hades", Nico replied.

"But still, it would be dangerous for the others"

"No, I will protect them with all my might. I swore by the River Styx"

"Nico", Thalia looked worried, "What if, what if you die in the process of protecting us?"

"That will make me a hero, right?" Nico chuckled, "But don't worry, I won't die. I know what I'm doing"

"Okay, so what's your plan?"

"We'll enter the Underworld through the entrance in Los Angeles, then we'll-"

"Wait a minute, did you say Los Angeles? Isn't that very far from here? We don't have enough money to take a ride by train or plane to Hollywood. Let's just use the entrance of Orpheus"

"We can't"

"Why?"

"Look, that door will lead you somewhere near my dad's palace. If he sees us, we're busted. We're supposed to go to the River Acheron and Styx. If we enter by the Door of Orpheus, we'll need to pass through Cerberus. That will be tough"

I remember my experience with Percy and Grover before about Cerberus. You'll not notice the guard dog unless you are like a few feet from him already. To pass through the Gates of the Underworld, we threw him a rubber ball. Each of his three heads wanted the ball but only one got it. They fought on the ownership of the ball and we took that opportunity to enter. "So how are we supposed to get to Los Angeles?"

"That's something I don't know"

Nico had disappointment in his face. He sighed but I had something in my mind. "By Atlas Air", I answered Thalia's question.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked me.

"We'll ride a plane of the Atlas Air"

"But we don't have money to ride a plane!"

"A golden drachma for each of us will do"

"Mortals don't accept drachmas"

"Who said that we're going to negotiate with mortals? You see, I found out many things on Daedalus' laptop. And one of them is the Atlas Air. The receptionist there is an automaton created by him. Present her a drachma for each passenger and off, a special plane will get you to your destination. Daedalus got the airlines' namesake from the Titan who upheld the sky, and you can go anywhere by travelling in the sky"

"I see. That's a good idea"

"I agree", Nico nodded. He's back to his determined self now, "So where's that Atlas Air?"

"In the John F. Kennedy Airport", I answered.

"We better get going now"

"Wait, we haven't packed our things yet. We need to get back to Manhattan"

I remembered what I told my husband before we left for camp. I promised him that Luke and I will be back by the afternoon. I need to fulfill that promise.

"But that will take time", Nico didn't want my idea of going home for a while, "Let's just tell him to meet us at the Airport. Iris message him, Annabeth"

"There's no rainbow anywhere", I replied as if I didn't like Nico's suggestion to just have an Iris message with Malcolm than to come home.

"There's one in the Poseidon cabin", Thalia told me, "A small fountain there is creating a small rainbow"

"Let's go there", I realized that they don't want me to go home since it will waste time so I agreed with the idea of Iris messaging my husband instead of seeing him.

I stood and so did the others except Rachel. "I'll be staying here", she smiled.

"Thank you for everything, Rachel", I told her before I headed out of the Big House.

We walked together towards the cabins. I hadn't seen that place in years already. I wondered if something has changed.

My jaw dropped when we arrived at the area. There were numerous cabins everywhere. More cabins surrounded the cabins of the twelve Olympian gods. I wondered if the Hermes cabin got overloaded that they needed to build more cabins. "What happened here?" I asked Nico, shock was my expression.

"Since the death of Ethan Nakamura, the Olympian gods decided to build cabins for the minor gods if they had children in the camp", Nico looked specifically at one cabin, "Even a cabin for my dad has been built"

I turned to look to where he was looking. It was an obsidian cabin. Bones decorated the doorposts. It possesses a dark aura that will let you know that it was Hades' cabin. "Anyway, let's proceed to the Poseidon cabin now", he continued.

We walked to the cabin where Percy used to live when he was at camp. It hasn't changed. Chiron told me a while ago that Percy's stuffs were still there, untouched by the cleaning harpies. This means that Poseidon didn't have another child since Percy. But since the last Great Prophecy was accomplished, the Big Three can now sire more children. We have a new Prophecy now and that doesn't talk about the son of the Eldest gods.

This seemed wrong. Maybe Poseidon is really in grief. That's why he hadn't bothered going up to the human world and having children with mortal women. Oh, maybe he loves Mrs. Jackson so much that he doesn't want to have an affair with other ladies other than her. I smiled at that idea.

Thalia opened the door. It smelled fresh sea weed, far different from the smell of dried kelp at the shore. The minotaur horn was there, hanging beside Percy's shield. Events in our lives were engraved there by Tyson, the Cyclops half-brother of Percy. And there on the end table was the little fountain that Thalia talked about. It looked exactly the same as the one in my room. Where did I acquire that fountain in my room again?

Oh yeah, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, sent that to me. It was from Poseidon. Poseidon gave that as a gift to me on the first anniversary of Percy's death. I didn't know why he gave me that fountain. Maybe it's because another one is in the Poseidon cabin – in Percy's room at Camp.

Thalia walked to me and held my hands. She placed something on my palm. It was a golden drachma. "Go, Annabeth", she told me, "We'll just wait outside so you can have some private talk with your husband"

She winked at me before leaving. She held Luke Perseus' hand as she walked out of the cabin. Nico was holding my son's other hand. They looked like a family. I chuckled at that.

I proceeded to the fountain on the end table. I tossed a golden drachma to the waters and whispered, "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering"

Before the coin touched the water, it shook and vanished. "Malcolm Charlesworth, Manhattan"

Nothing happened for like a few seconds before the rainbow shimmered and I saw my husband in his office at work. He turned his desk chair and saw the Iris message. He gasped in surprise. "Annabeth!" he exclaimed.

"Dear", I spoke, "I'm sorry if I surprised you. We couldn't get home today because Chiron insists that we stay here for a while for old times' sake. Please pack our things and bring it to John F. Kennedy Airport. We'll meet there. We're already here somewhere near the airport because we're waiting for Rachel Elizabeth Dare's arrival, the soon-to-be host of the Oracle"

I lied to my husband. I didn't want to tell him Nico's plan or he'll die at the spot. His expression was grim; I guess he expected us to come home by the afternoon. "I'll miss you", he said with a soft voice.

"Same here, dear, I love you", I replied tenderly, "Let's meet at the airport"

"Yes, I love you too"

I waved my hand over the rainbow and my husband's face disappeared. The Iris message is now over.

I stood and walked towards the door. I approached Nico, Thalia and Luke Perseus who were sitting on the fountain at the center of the twelve cabins of the twelve Olympians. When Nico saw me, he urged Thalia and Luke to approach me. "We need to ask a favor from Rachel", I told them what I said to my husband.

"That's better than to tell him the whole truth", Thalia nodded, "Let's tell this to Rachel now"

"No, you stay here", Nico stopped us, "I'll talk to Rachel about this. Besides, I need to pack my things now so that we can be at the airport before Malcolm arrives"

At that, Nico sprinted to the Big House. "Oh yeah, speaking of 'pack my things', I think I also need to pack my things", Thalia said, "Wait for me here"

He headed to the Artemis cabin. I sat on the edge of the fountain; Luke Perseus was on my lap. He looked at me. "Mom, can we go to Poseidon's cabin again?" he seemed as if he was begging for alms.

"Alright", I released him from my lap and held his hand as we walked back to the cabin of the god of the sea.

Inside, I saw Percy's bronze shield again. I was attracted by it.

I approached the shield and got it from the ceiling. I touched the engravings on the shield. I remembered all the times I had with Percy, be it good or bad. I burst into tears.

My son approached me and looked at me with a worried face. "What's it, mom?" he asked me.

"Nothing, my son, nothing", I lied.

Then, I realized something. The shield should have been left in San Francisco when Percy saved us. How did this return to camp? I didn't know, and that doesn't matter.

I heard Thalia calling my name outside. I tapped the shield and it became a wristwatch. I wiped my tears and stood up. "Let's go", I said.

I reached for my son's hands and we went out of the Cabin. Thalia was about to enter the Poseidon Cabin. She gasped when the door suddenly opened in front of her. "I'm sorry for surprising you!" I apologized at once.

"It's okay", Thalia replied, "Nico has arranged a ride with Argus. Come on"

I carried Luke Perseus on my arms as we began to sprint towards Half-Blood Hill. From a distance, I could see a yellow cab parked beneath what used to be called Thalia's pine tree. Nico was already putting his things inside the cab when he saw us. "Faster!" he yelled, "Rachel is already on her way to the airport"

Nico went in the cab and settled on the front seat. Thalia, Luke and I sat at the passengers' seat. Luke was between Thalia and I. As soon as we were all set inside the car, the cab roared to life and ventured towards the mortal world.


To be continued...