A/N: Once again, Jessica D. Nird and her reviewers are fictional characters and are not real people.
Chapter Four: Return of the Jedi
One day, Jessica D. Nird checked her email again.
"Like OMG!" she screamed quite loud, "More reviews!"
She looked through all the reviews on her Truth or Dare story and stopped herself to look at one particularly long review.
Dear Super-Cool Author,
I like totally love your story! But there's like one problem!
There's no Percabeth at all! Except for the first chapter, there was like no really cute Percabeth love scenes!
I want fluff or I'm not reviewing the next chapter!
Sincerely,
A. Fanatic
A lot of the new reviews said similar things as the first review did, so Jessica decided to reread her Truth or Dare story.
Her reviewers were right; there was no Percabeth save for the first chapter. She had to give the fans what they want but how could she if her story took place after the Titan War and the underwater kiss between Percy and Annabeth? There was nothing she could use to make the Percabeth more interesting.
Then, it hit her.
She quickly opened Google Chrome and her email and typed rapidly in her letter composition. After she was done, she looked over it before clicking "send".
Meanwhile, at Camp Half-Blood...
"Are those seven minutes up?" Percy asked Lou.
"Just thirty more seconds, Percy."
Meanwhile, Annabeth and Malcolm were having a covert discussion, making sure that no one could overhear them.
"She stopped making those references," whispered Malcolm.
"Yeah, I know," muttered Annabeth, "But hopefully she would keep making them so the readers get annoyed."
Malcolm sighed before muttering back, "Sometimes, I think we are the only sane ones in this story. I guess we should be thankful that the fanfic author somehow didn't make the two of us out of character, huh?"
"I don't know. We might become insane before this story is ev-"
Bang!
Annabeth and Malcolm jumped and turned to look at the back of the Aphrodite cabin. The closet door had opened and both Katie and Connor were walking out with sweat on their foreheads.
"Did you guys kiss?" said Silena with excitement as Artemis giggled.
"No," said Katie and Connor curtly.
"Really? Then, what's that red thing on Connor's face, then?"
"That's just a slap mark, Silena," moaned Connor, "Oh gods, it still hurts like Hades."
Lou Ellen gave Katie the thumbs-up sign while Percy and Malcolm began to snicker. Annabeth was about to crack a smile until she saw Silena's face.
"Katie Gardener!" Silena growled, "Why didn't you kiss Connor!"
The laughter immediately died as Katie turned slowly with fear to Silena.
"He was annoying," Katie then said in a quiet voice, barely louder than a mutter, "And he wasn't really my type, Silena."
"THAT IS NOT A GOOD EXCUSE!" Silena screamed, piercing everyone else's ears and pushing Katie backwards with her sudden shout, "KISS HIM NOW OR ELSE!"
Annabeth had to give Katie some respect as the daughter of Demeter stood her ground shakily and replied with a defiant "No!".
"THAT IS IT!" shouted Silena, "YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!"
Katie trembled fearfully as Silena took out her pistol and raised it at her.
"What are you going to do?" Katie said quietly.
Silena glared at her for a moment before replying angrily, "I was thinking of making you play Russian Roulette with a fully loaded Colt for your punishment but I think you deserve far worse for ruining the romance of this game."
Katie gulped nervously. So did Annabeth.
"For your punishment, you and Connor Stoll would be kicked out of this cabin and be forbidden from playing this wonderful Truth or Dare game until I've seen that you and Connor have made romantic contact," said Silena with a stony and ruthless face.
Annabeth breathed a sign of relief. She watched as Katie raise her eyebrows and walk out of the cabin. Meanwhile, Connor was still complaining about his punishment in the circle with the other players.
"But I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Shut up Connor!" screamed Silena, "You follow my orders or I'll shoot you in the head!"
"But I love playing this children's party ga-"
"GO!"
"Okay, fine," he grumbled as he stood up and followed Katie out the door.
"So we're down four players," said Lou immediately after Connor was gone, "I think we need more players, Silena."
"Don't worry," replied Silena as her frown twisted into a smile, "Katie will probably return soon-"
"When the Phlegethon river freezes over," Annabeth heard Malcolm finish under his breath.
Pfft
Annabeth raised her head to the source of the noise and saw a small piece of paper that floating down to the middle of the Truth or Dare players. Silena quickly flew upwards to snatch the note out of the air. Annabeth's brain began to work fast as she watched the daughter of Aphrodite fly towards the cabin closet.
After a moment or so, Silena flew back to the group and announced, "We are going to change this game up. Artemis, I want you to get one of my sisters so she can play this game."
"Sure," said Artemis who vanished, leaving silver dust.
Silena then turned to the main group, but by her eyes, Annabeth saw that she wasn't staring at them.
"Can someone please split Thalico apart?" she asked.
Lou Ellen responded by flicking her hand casually while still looking at Silena. Everyone else watched in amazement as a giant transparent orb lifted Thalia and Nico upwards and separated into two, each carrying a single passenger.
"They have snogged for at least one hour now," announced Lou as she stared at her watch.
"The time makes no sense," whispered Malcolm to Annabeth, "How did those two suck on each other for one straight hour?"
"I don't know but I already lost track of the time because of the insipidity of this game," replied Annabeth in a bored manner, her eyes closed and one hand on her forehead.
Meanwhile, Lou's orbs disappeared, dropping Thalia and Nico on two different cabin beds.
"Mmmm, Thalia, your taste is so spic-Dammit!" cursed Nico who found himself kissing a pillow, "You're not Thalia!"
"Mmmm, Nico, your lips are so sexy," simpered Thalia as she snogged and cuddled with the blankets on her bed with her eyes closed, "Oh, you're so soft too!"
"Thalia, you are kissing a blanket," pointed out Artemis helpfully.
"What are you talking about?" said Thalia in a bubbly happy tone as she opened her eyes, "This is Nico! And he's...a blanket?"
"OH MY GODS!" the daughter of Zeus screamed girly (mentally scarring Annabeth in the process), "Nico turned into a blanket! What did you you guys do to him!"
"Gods, that's too OOC," remarked Malcolm with disgust, "If that happened to me..."
He shivered.
"Thalia dear, I'm over here," said Nico from the bed opposite hers.
Thalia smiled gleefully and jumped off her bed and ran for Nico, but on the way, she bumped into Silena's ghost.
"Thalia, can you wait for a while? I need to ask Nico something," said Silena.
"Sure!" she squealed, "Just as long as you don't kiss or him something."
Annabeth raised her eyebrows as Silena flew over to Nico and whispered something into his ear.
"Okay, sure," she heard Nico say.
She watched Nico jump off his bed and summon a black blade out of nowhere. He then slammed it into the cabin floor, creating a mini fissure in the carpet.
"Spirits rise again. Bring me the soul of the Lost Hero!" chanted Nico in a deep voice unlike his own.
From the crack, a pale figure rose out of the hole. As Nico finished his spell, the pale figure moved its head up to stare at Annabeth. Its featureless face creeped her out until Nico finished chanting.
Suddenly, the faceless spirit grew features as if it were a piece of clay that was being molded by an invisible hand. As more features were added to the spirit, the ghost looked more human. Finally, the spirit looked recognizable.
Annabeth gasped; the spirit was Luke Castellan.
Luke gave a large, cheeky smile and rose in the air, moving his feet as he did so.
"Greetings, my name is Luke Skywalker," he joked as he walked through the air in a Michael Jordan imitation.
Most of the Truth or Dare players laughed; Annabeth just rolled her eyes.
"Gee, so punny, Luke," said Malcolm with sarcasm, apparently not amused either.
"Malcolm, is that you?" Luke asked, peering closely at the son of Athena, "You seemed to have gotten snarkier since I last saw you."
"Gee, you think? Anyways, what the Hades are you doing here?"
"I wanted to join in your Truth or Dare game," explained Luke, spreading his arms out, "Because I love playing children's party games!"
"Don't we all?" muttered Malcolm with derision.
"Anyways, let's get this awesome game back on!" Luke shouted, pumping his ghostly arm to the air, "Who wants to continue playing!"
"I do!" squealed Silena.
"I do!" shouted Lou eagerly.
"Me too!" cried out Percy.
"MmmMmmm, I like Nico's lips," said Thalia.
"May I be excused?" asked Annabeth.
"Oh, come on, Annie," said Luke, turning to her with pleading eyes, "I came back to this game just for you."
"Hey! Get away from my girl!" growled Percy suddenly growling like a bulldog.
"Who says she's your girl, Jackson!?" challenged Luke.
"I do!" shouted Percy, "And so does Annabeth!"
"We'll see about that!" said Luke who then sat next to Annabeth and put one arm around her.
"She's mine!" screamed Percy as he went to Annabeth and pulled her left arm.
"No! She's mine!" yelled back Luke who pulled on Annabeth's right arm.
"Ouch!" cried out Annabeth as she felt her arms pulled out their sockets, "Guys, stop that!"
"You heard her, Jackson," said Luke, "Let go!"
"You first!" growled Percy as he tugged Annabeth's arm with more force.
"Omigods!" sang Silena while Artemis and Lou giggled, "So, so, so cute! It's like drama here!"
Silena's words clicked into Annabeth's brain.
"Oh gods," she prayed silently to every Olympian including Hera, "Please don't let me be caught in a stupid cliche love triangle. Please don't let me be caught in a stupid cliche love triangle..."
"Malcolm!" she then shouted, "A little help here?"
Annabeth looked around at the Truth or Dare circle and saw that her brother wasn't there. Confused momentarily, she then turned to the cabin door and saw her brother trying to sneak out the cabin.
"Malcolm, help!" she shouted a little more loudly.
Malcolm turned to her before turning back to the cabin door, temptation in his face. He looked longingly at the door, but at the last moment, he turned on his heel to help Annabeth out.
"Gods, let go of my sister you imbeciles," he said sternly as he slugged both Percy and Luke in the shoulders, "Seriously, get a grip on yourselves."
Percy and Luke dropped Annabeth's arms and glared at Malcolm for a moment before turning away from him, both of them crossing their arms. Annabeth hugged herself as her arms were released, consoling them and making sure that they were still okay.
"Thanks-" Annabeth started.
"MALCOLM!" interrupted Silena with a high-pitched cry, "OH MY GODS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU'RE RUINING THE DRAMA!"
"I'm saving my sister from getting her limbs torn off," replied Malcolm angrily, "Apparently, you didn't catch that while you were enjoying all that stupid romance drama from Luke and Percy."
Silena's frown turned deeper as she narrowed her eyes at Malcolm. Annabeth appreciated Malcolm's help but now she was now thinking if it had been the right choice for Malcolm to take.
Annabeth saw Silena reach into her pants pocket when the cabin door opened.
"Hey! Like wassup!" squealed Artemis as she walked into the cabin with a tall Asian girl with long, shoulder-length black hair, "I like brought someone!"
Annabeth saw Silena hastily pull her hand out of her pocket to greet the newcomer.
"Salutations, Silena," the Asian girl said in a friendly tone.
"Oh, hey Drew," replied Silena without enthusiasm.
"So," Drew said as she sat in the Truth or Dare circle and looked around at everyone else in the cabin, "Whose turn is it?"
"Oh yeah, wasn't Katie chosen last?" asked Lou who looked at Silena.
"So where did she go?" asked Drew.
"She got kicked out," replied Artemis who sat next to Drew.
"Oh, then whose turn should it be?" said Drew, raising her eyebrows.
"Mine," suddenly said Silena, "And I choose Annab-"
"Oh no you don't," cut in Malcolm, "You're not starting that soap opera garbage up again."
Silena, Luke, Percy, and Lou glared at Malcolm. Annabeth had to hand it to her half-brother for staring defiantly back at them.
"Fine then," growled Silena, "Malcolm, I choose you. Truth or Dare?"
For the first time in her life, Annabeth saw her half-brother pale a bit. She couldn't blame him since she knew that Silena would want to get revenge on her half-brother.
"Dare."
"Okay," Silena growled, "I dare you to play Twenty Minutes in Heaven with my half-sister, Drew Tanaka, in the closet."
Annabeth sighed with relief. Apparently so did Malcolm since he replied with his usual sarcasm, "Gee, how original. Didn't you do that dare with Katie already?"
"I don't care. Get into the closet now!"
Malcolm stood up and walked to the closet. Drew was about to follow him when Silena stopped her.
"Drew, I want you to use charmspeak to brainwash Malcolm," she said
"But why?" asked Drew, "He doesn't seem like a bad kid."
"Sure, but he's screwing up this fabulous story," growled Silena, "Charmspeak him or you shall suffer my wrath, Drew!"
"Fine," said Drew reluctantly as she followed Malcolm to the closet.
Annabeth tried to shout a warning to Malcolm before Drew closed the closet door but it was too late. Malcolm gave no response that he heard Annabeth's message as Drew shut the door. For a moment, she thought about running over to the closet to tell Malcolm personally but by that time, Silena was already near the closet and was putting a chair under the closet's door handle.
Silena then floated back to the circle and smiled so deviously that it looked more like a sneer. Annabeth couldn't help feeling creeped out as the ghost sat in the air in front of her.
"You guys can fight over her now," she cooed at Luke and Percy who were edging closer to Annabeth.
"Kiss me, sexy Annabeth!" said Percy seductively as he reached for her.
"No, me!" said Luke who was reaching for her as well.
"You got to choose one, Annabeth," giggled Silena, "Although I'll prefer it if you chose your current boyfriend."
Fat chance, thought Annabeth as she quickly stood up and ran for the closet.
She heard Percy and Luke's outrage but she ignored it as she knocked Silena's chair aside and opened the closet door.
"What are you doing?" said Drew in a surprised voice as Annabeth walked into the closet and started taking down the clothes hanging on the bar above their heads.
"I have no intention of being kissed by one of those OOC idiots," answered Annabeth without looking at Drew, "Right now, I really need a clothing hanger."
"But how would a hanger help?" asked Drew in a confused tone.
Annabeth turned her head to Malcolm and their eyes met. Malcolm's grey eyes flashed for a moment and Annabeth knew that he understood. But she could hear Luke and Percy's footsteps getting closer to the closet.
"I got the cliffhanger," he answered to Annabeth's relief as he pulled a clothes hanger inscribed with the word CLIFF out of one of his pockets, "But remember Annabeth, it only works once."
"You guys, you didn't answer my question," interrupted Drew.
Annabeth ignored her and took the cliffhanger from Malcolm, saying, "Thanks Malcolm. I owe you one."
"You mean two," he replied with a smirk.
"Oh shut up!"
She closed her eyes as she held the cliffhanger tightly and summoned its power. That was when she felt Percy's seaweed breath on her shoulders...
To Be Continued