The world we knew won't come back, the time we've lost can't get back, the life we had won't be ours again.—"Never Too Late."
Annabeth
Percy obviously had no clue who the voice was, but he obeyed it anyway. I followed him halfway across the camp, back to the Poseidon/Neptune cabin, and just managed to slip inside before the door swung shut behind him. He sat down on his bunk, looking around anxiously. I felt the same, but I was careful enough to peek out the front windows and make sure no one was headed over.
"Alright…" He said to no one. "I'm alone. Where's the help?"
"Right here." I took my cap off and became visible. He looked startled, but I saw recognition cross his face.
"You're…" He paused, trying to remember. "You're Anna, from the Athena cabin."
"Annabeth," I corrected, disappointment hitting me. "Anna's close enough, though."
"Okay…" he said. "So… what's going on?"
"You don't remember much, do you?" I asked, trying to sound neutral. He shook his head ruefully.
"Bits and pieces…" He said unhappily. "I remember you, some. You… you got a broken arm in a fight. And another time… you were on stage, burning a flag or something, and you were crying." A little hope flared up inside me. He remembered the fight with Kronos, at least slightly, and he remembered me burning his funeral shroud.
"Percy, you don't belong here." I started explaining quickly. "You're Greek. This camp is Roman. We need to get you back to Camp Half-Blood where you belong before the Romans realize who you are and kill you."
"Why would they kill me?" Percy asked, baffled.
"There's been a blood feud since Troy was burned down by the Greeks, supposedly over Helen." I admitted. "Aeneas escaped, formed Rome, and they later conquered Greece in revenge."
"How'd I get here?" He questioned.
"Hera stole your memories and kidnapped you." I said quickly. "Look, I can explain everything on the flight home, but we don't have enough time for questions now…" I thought of something, and took a pen out of my jacket pocket.
"Here." I handed it to him, allowing myself a small smile. "Take this. It's a powerful weapon." He accepted it gingerly.
"This is a pen." Percy stared at it. "Anna, this is a pen!"
"Is it?" I aimed the tip away from both our bodies, then clicked it. It extended into a double-edged celestial bronze sword.
"Whoa!"
"Your old sword." I explained, then pressed a button. It became a pen again, and I dropped it in his hands. "You might need it." I moved towards the door, about to put my cap on. Percy hadn't stood.
"Not convinced?" I realized. Percy hesitated, but nodded. "I can prove it to you."
"How?" He asked.
"Before fighting Kronos, you went and bathed in the River Styx." I explained. "Which is why you're mostly invulnerable. But I know your Achilles' spot, because you showed it to me."
"So, where is it?" He asked. I moved closer, until our bodies were almost touching.
"I'll show you." I said quietly, putting my hand under his shirt and running it down his back. "Right… here." I pressed down a small patch of skin opposite his navel, and he visibly shuddered. He had told me before that it felt wonderful. "That's your mortal spot. The one part of your body that isn't invulnerable, so you—"
"Umm, Percy?" We both spun around at the voice. Marie was standing in the doorway. I swore silently. "Percy, I thought you had cramps or something."
"Marie…" Percy fumbled. "Uh, this is my friend Annabeth, from the At—Minerva cabin." His sister looked at me coldly. My pulse sped up significantly. I had thought she would be away for at least an half hour.
"Minerva Hall, huh?" She asked. "I don't remember you."
"I just got here a few days ago…" I lied weakly. "It was tough. My protector and I were chased by hellhounds the whole way."
"I see…" Marie said, in a tone that said, 'Yeah right!' "Annabeth… maybe you should do some research."
"On what?" I replied, gripping my baseball cap.
"Maybe on camp initiation, for starters…" Marie shot back. "All demigods that come here come as infants, and only if Lupa deems them worthy!" She stepped back outside the cabin and started screaming.
"The Greeks are here! To ARMS!" She hollered. I slipped my baseball cap on and turned invisible, pausing to give Percy some rapid instructions.
"Get to the San Francisco International airport, hanger 16!" I ordered. "I'll meet you there!" Marie grabbed for me, but I tripped her and slipped out the cabin door, dodging as half a dozen Romans poured into it. I moved to make my escape, keeping next to buildings to avoid being bumped into. Satyrs—fauns, were running around, but I doubted I smelled different enough for them to single me out, even if they caught a whiff of me. A few minutes later I had crept far enough away to walk calmly, without fear of bumping into anyone. I took a few deep breaths and glanced back. They probably wouldn't realize that Percy was a Greek. He had believed me, I knew that. All we had to do was wait for him to leave the camp, regroup with him, and we'd be home free. Maybe we could leave the whole peace-making effort to Chiron, once the Argo II was finished… a shadow on the ground made me pause and look up.
Griffon. I gripped the hilt of my knife, trying to remember how good their eyes were. I doubted it could see me—after all, the cap was from Athena herself, and I don't think my mom would give me faulty equipment. It circled a few more times, and I started walking very slowly—
It immediately let out a scream and dived. I ran, realizing my mistake too late. It had seen the grass shift under my feet when I moved—that was the only explanation. A rush of wind gave me enough warning to dive and roll out of the way, but it didn't circle around for another pass. It landed. I drew my knife, trying to remember how a lion would attack. It screamed again, bringing more attention to itself. I was guessing I had a few seconds to kill it and run before a crowd dog piled on me.
"Surrender or die!" It growled in a strange, deep voice. I tapped the alarm on my wristwatch several times while I had the chance. I glanced at my knife, then at the griffon.
This wasn't going to work.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Crud." Two heads turned quickly.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked. Will was staring at the laptop.
"She signaled. Something went wrong." The archer shook his head. "She wouldn't do that unless she was captured or Percy was in trouble."
"She's blown." Vincent said matter-of-factly. "We'll need to rescue her. Percy too, I bet.'
"We don't know if she even found Percy, or if he remembers." Will reminded him. "He might not want to leave."
"Even if he has amnesia, we can still use him as a human shield." Vincent commented wryly. "It would be very effective." Piper looked horrified. Will appeared to be considering it.
"We have to call Chiron." Piper took a cell phone out of her backpack. Will stopped her.
"No phone calls." He ordered. "You'll attract every monster within five miles, and that's the last thing we need."
"They won't attack so close to a demigod camp." Piper retorted. "We need help."
"Yes and no." Vincent cut in. "Monsters will attack if you make that call, and no, we don't need help. We can get her out."
"The two of you?" Piper asked skeptically. "Against a hundred demigods and who knows what else?"
"It's doable." Will assured her. Vincent started dumping out the contents of his duffel bag, looking for something. Piper watched in morbid fascination as he sorted through a pile of handguns, knives, spare magazines, and other pieces of equipment. "We'll go in late at night, probably around two am. Then we'll just have to deal with sentries."
"I brought a suppressor for my 1911." Vincent chimed in, screwing a black silencer onto a semiautomatic handgun. "And it's a .45, so it's already subsonic. But I didn't bring LTL's."
"What are LTL's?" Piper asked immediately, wondering what he meant by 'subsonic'.
"Less than lethal." Will supplied. "Don't worry, I brought tranquilizers, I can deal with the sentries on the guard towers."
"Problem will be getting out quickly enough." Vincent remarked. "We don't know how long we have once we take a guard down."
"Then all they have to do is seal the gate and we're locked in." Will agreed. "It'll have to be fast." Vincent took something out of his bag, a tan color and shaped like a brick.
"I've got three C4 charges. Each is powerful enough to blast through a brick wall, easily." He said. "I can set them around camp before we rescue Annabeth. If we're discovered, we blow them and make a new exit."
"We'll do that," Will said. "But we'll still need an escape route once we get them out. The Romans will chase us." They both fell silent for a few moments, then looked at Piper simultaneously. She instantly felt wary.
"What?" She asked, anticipating the worst. Will took a set of keys out of his pocket.
"Can you pilot the pontoon boat Annabeth bought?" He asked.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Annabeth
Hurbis. That was my fatal flaw, and it had gotten me again. Believing that I could pull this off single-handedly… I smacked my forehead again, pacing in my cell. They had a small jail, six cells total, under their main hall. I examined what I had to work with again, wondering if their was some possibly escape. A singled cot attached to the wall, with no mattress. A blanket, a pillow. Useless. The cell door was a standard lock, but I didn't have anything to pick it with. The faun doing guard duty had the keys. At the walls were solid, which would provide a little privacy if I had miraculously come up with an idea.
No way out. I glanced at my watch, hoping the signal had worked. They had taken my knife, and pretty much everything else I was carrying. Jason had showed up and promptly been shown the Greek spy they captured, but luckily he had taken my cues and pretended not to know me.
The heavy prison door creaked open, and I heard a quiet voice. The faun grunted permission, and Percy himself walked into sight. I allowed myself a smile.
"You okay?" He asked quietly, his eyebrows scrunched together from worry.
"I'll be fine." I replied, keeping my voice down. "Do you believe me? What I said earlier?" He flushed a little.
"Yeah… I remember more, now." Percy confided. "It's like… a really hard test. You take it, do bad, then remember some of the right answers later." He glanced at the faun, then offered me Anaklusmos in pen form, being careful that the guard couldn't see it.
"You'll need it more than me." I refused it gently. "If you can get my cap, though, I'd really appreciate it. It was a—"
"Present from your mom on your twelfth birthday." Percy supplied. I nodded.
"Yeah." I said quietly. "I really don't want to lose it. And there's a small photo booklet, and my knife. If you can hold onto that stuff for me…"
"I'll get it." He agreed. "I can bring you the cap with breakfast."
"I'm not going to be here for breakfast." I told him. "Be ready... you miss it, and it's a three thousand mile drive back to New York." Percy started to ask a question, but stopped as if he had remembered something.
"Athena always has a plan, right?" He asked, a smile warming his face. I grinned back, the fear and anxiety leaving me.
"You know it, Seaweed Brain."
