Chapter 3:
The surrounding Avengers looked towards the demigoddess with a mixture of sorrow and fear, watching as her body quickly changed into that of the scared teenager yet again. Thor, clad in red cape and iron armour, turned to the genius and nodded gratefully. "Thank you, my friend. I am truly grateful for your help with Annabeth. A true help."
Tony nodded and grinned slightly, still unaware of how to react to the turning of gears that raced through her head. "Anytime, Point Break," The Man of Iron smiled, "Now, Miss Chase, we are we going?"
Annabeth quickly pulled the hair around her head into a simple pony tail, smiling gently as a wisp of hair landed beside her line of sight, reminding her of how her beloved used to play with the strands of silky gold hair.
She lay upon the pearly white sand, looking into the glinting eyes of the infamous Percy Jackson. He grinned at her mischievously as he pulled at her hair tie, silently hinting at her to remove the irritable elastic band. Annabeth rolled the stormy orbs and tugged the elastic onto her wrist. Percy began pulling on her hair softly, running his hands through her tresses.
"Why do you do that?" Annabeth asked, turning her head into his stomach while she laughed at his tug upon her head.
He moved his head closer to her own and gently placed a kiss on her temple. She laughed again as he pulled back to lean against the tree trunk behind him, tugging on the golden strands yet again. "Because I can." He responded, his green eyes sparkling in beautiful harmony with the ocean just twenty metres from their feet.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and laughed into his torso as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her closer to his body. She giggled and rested her head upon his chest, snuggling into the soft material of his blue shirt.
"I love you Annabeth," he said quietly into her hair, nuzzling his cheek on her head.
An arm wrapped around her again to steady the blonde as she returned to the non-dreamscape world. "You okay, kid?" The previously all-knowing genius asked from across the room as the broad chested god wrapped his arms protectively around that of the demigoddess yet again.
Annabeth nodded mutely, afraid that if she spoke, her voice scared and afraid, she would just fall into another cacophony of tears. Her weakening body shook quietly whilst she waited for her quivering body to progressively return to its previous state of normalcy.
"Point break," Tony said carefully, his dark eyes hesitant and slightly fearful, turning to look into the blue eyes of the thunder god, "How did you know of Sun Tzu?" The question caused the bright eyes of Annabeth Chase to glint like lights as she turned to look at the god, who, in turn, was smirking at her.
The blond haired archer, the infamous Clint Barton, rose his eyebrow and looked to the secretive duo before them. His blue eyes were glinting softly as he pointed to the young daughter of Athena. "She's figured it out already, hasn't she?" Annabeth laughed softly and pointed to Thor, using it as a gesture for him to speak, his voice booming and powerful.
"Perseus called her 'Wise Girl' for a reason, Clint of Barton." He said, laughing to himself and grinning as the self-proclaimed genius, Mr Anthony Stark, spun to look at the demigoddess before him.
Annabeth looked down, blushing softly at the comment and fighting the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia as Tony Stark watched her carefully. His brown eyes were piercing as he watched her, looking for any sign of the 'clink in the armour', as she had been trained.
"My teacher, when I was a child, he used to tell me about a Norseman. This man did something, the details he gave were always very vague, but the man was a very good writer, hence he was liked by the king. But he did something and got banished from Asgard. I think he came to Earth as his banishment and then joined the Chinese Military to continue writing. Hence, Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' came to be." The young blonde smiled softly, as though remembering some memory of her aforementioned mentor.
The self-proclaimed genius looked to Thor quickly, "How did her teacher know about it?"
Thor laughed, his bountiful voice echoing throughout the admittedly empty room, and attempted to slap Annabeth on the back, like he would a fellow warrior, to which she quickly ducked out of, grinning softly. "Her teacher is a great legend along my people, my friend. Just as Perseus was what every warrior, myself included, esteemed to be. If you believe yourselves to be true warriors or soldiers, you are merely a speck in the shadow of his greatness. Nobody was to be a better warrior – just as it was originally foretold many years ago."
Thunder and lightning cackled outside the confines of the highrise, causing the room's occupants to jump, including the supposed god of thunder.
"Thor, that's not funny." The Archer spoke, almost fearful that he would see the two lightning children again.
The Norse god swallowed carefully and looked to the strong blonde on his left. "Was not I."
Eyes wide and frightful, Annabeth moved quickly, faster than any could see, and ran to the window, almost pressing herself against the glass as she strained to see whatever had caught her attention. Her breath caught in her throat, her body quickly changing again into the warrior they had seen when she first went to get the book.
"What's wrong, Annabeth?" asked the captain as he watched her slowly, his blue eyes crinkling when he saw her reach into her backpack and pull out what looked to be a bottle of alcohol.
She ran to the elevator.
-(O)-
Annabeth wandered through a large hall slowly. She ran her hand over the golden walls gently as she walked. Markings of war and tributes littered the walls, showing battles and stories of Thor and Loki's lives. She continued walking towards the giant doors, pausing to run her hand along the engraved writing.
"It says 'Throne Room'." came a voice from behind her. "Come child, it is not safe in here." An older man with a short white beard, golden eye patch and billowing red cape appeared behind her, guiding her into the throne room. She stopped when arriving at the base of the golden steps leading towards the throne. The older man seated himself on the throne and looked to her, his eyes twinkling softly. "I'm sure you have many questions, do you not?"
Annabeth nodded and spoke quietly, "I do, actually. But first, may I ask whom you are?"
He laughed heartily, reminding her of somebody she couldn't pinpoint. "I am Odin, father of Loki and Thor. And you, daughter of Athena, are the star crossed lover of the hero, Perseus Jackson." The heroine of Olympus blushed. She had only been called that twice – by the infamous Aphrodite and Eros – throughout her short life.
"It would seem I am," she said ominously, "Pardon me, my lord, but why am I here?"
A second voice appeared behind her, causing her to jump around in a rather other-the-top manner. "That would have been my doing, Miss Annabeth." A woman with natural brown hair, pale skin with a few freckles on her cheek bones and nose, dark brown eyes and, lastly, a scarily sweet aura surrounding her. "'Tis an honour to finally meet the former-to-be Princess of Atlantis."
The blushing blonde stuttered. Again, the kind dark goddess spoke, her voice melodic and charmingly innocent, "I am Nótt, Norse Goddess of Night. Many of the imbecile mortals seem to think I am a grandmother of Odin, here. I am merely his friend. My father is Nörvi, the Norse version of your Erebus."
Annabeth nodded, her blonde hair falling into her sad grey eyes, "I understand, Milady. I do, however, have only one question: why am I here?"
Nόtt smiled, and gestured for Annabeth to look to her left. Doing as told, the daughter of Athena saw an Iris Message, showing two people.
"Hello, Annabeth, Odin, Nόtt." Hades said. Ever since the giants and titans had returned to the depths, he became more of an amusingly depressed god, laughing at the darkest of stories - usually during awkward times.
"Hades, how lovely it is to finally hear of you. Hel, how is Hell?" The woman, Hel, had pale porcelain skin, glowing white-grey eyes and pitch black hair. She wore a flowing midnight black dress that ended at her ankles. An ornamental woven black tiara resided on her head, glowing softly of a silvery-black hue.
She smiled softly, elbowing Hades in the ribs gently. "It would be better if Hades would decide where to place his greatest hero."
"How am I supposed to do that if you keep distracting me, Hel?" commented Hades incredulously.
"Wait," commented Annabeth, her calculating grey eyes glaring threateningly at Hades and Hel, "What do you mean 'decide where to place'? Shouldn't he go to Elysium? He is, after all, a Greek hero."
Hades looked down, trying not to look at the angry daughter of Athena. "You see, Percy isn't just Greek. He was the heir to Thor's hammer, making him Norse as well. I don't know about you, Annabeth, but I don't think he'd enjoy standing in Limbo for eternity."
She nodded, a small tear escaping her eye lid, falling down her cheek softly. Annabeth wiped the tear away quickly, berating herself for showing such emotions before the King of Asgard.
Hel stood forward in the message, her black hair flowing around her head, causing the mirage to shake for a mere few moments. "Miss Chase, where do you believe him to go?"
Hades muttered under his breath, "If we could find him…" but the daughter of Athena did not hear him.
"I don't know! He should be on Earth – at camp! Not in any underworld!"
Her golden blonde hair was bouncing around her head like an angel – an obvious representation of her personality – while she threw her hands into the air. She didn't want him in Elysium or the Isles or Hell. She wanted him at camp, with her.
Annabeth's vision started to swim, fading in and out of pure darkness and her swirling image.
"Good Luck with everything, my child." Odin's voice spoke, sending a chill of calm through her heart.
Everything would be okay.
-(O)-
Annabeth opened her eyes carefully, blinking away the previous night's dream that had been plaguing her mind on repeat for the entire day. Her stormy grey eyes held nothing against the oncoming storm clouds surrounding the building of which the Avengers now resided. A vortex of dark grey smoke was slowly but surely forming in the clouds above the tower.
The daughter of Athena stepped out of the elevator slowly, looking out the floor to ceiling windows that surrounded the foyer of the Stark Industries Self Sufficient Eco-Tower. Or at least that's what Tony had insisted on calling it on paper.
Pushing the glazed French doors open, Annabeth was met with an extreme wind, hitting her face, chest, and stomach. The onslaught of winds berated her body as she pulled the sweater tightly against her body.
Ambrosia in hand, Annabeth pushed herself through the doorway, preparing herself for what she was about to do.
Let's hope is doesn't go to hell, she thought bitterly.
Well, um… Hi? Please don't kill me. J Next chapter (released maybe in the next few days… MAYBE) will just be responses to the previous reviews and stuff. It shall then be deleted a week after posting.
