Disclaimer: I do not own the PJATO series.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to alli303, for guessing correctly. The answer was Albert Einstein. There is another little 'contest' too. I was amazed that nobody noticed the pun in chapter 2. So, whoever can find that will have the next chapter dedicated to them, and whoever that is can also tell me what they want to see in the story later on. This one should be really easy for you guys, so go for it! (I need help in deciding a few things, filling the gaps, like, so that's why I'm doing this. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!)
That night I was woken again by a distraught Annabeth.
Her hair was all tangled, like she had been tossing and turning all night. Her eyes were wide as she pulled her hand back from my shoulder after I had finally woke up.
"What's up?" I mumbled, too asleep still to realize the reason why she had woken me up. She waited for me to sit up, then she sat down next to me. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Finally, I was fully awake.
"Your mom?" I gasped, grabbing her hand without thinking. She nodded miserably. "Okay, I'm going to tell my mom." I ran to her room and knocked on the door. I heard her mumble something, and I opened the door a crack and poked my head in.
"What, Percy?" she asked, cranky. I opened the door more and slipped in.
"Annabeth had another dream," I told her. She flung the covers off and got up.
"Where is she?" she demanded.
"The couch," I told her. She flew past me and went into the room, gathering Annabeth up in a hug.
"Oh, sweetie," she soothed. Annabeth shook in her arms. "You and Percy go, alright? I'll take care of the school and your parents. Just get ready and go. There's no point in waiting for morning, anyways." My mom shot me a look, and I dashed into my room and retrieved my backpack from the closet. I went to my drawers and started stuffing clothes, socks, and packaged food that I kept in my bottom drawer for emergencies like this. Mostly granola bars and stuff like that, but it was food nonetheless. I went into the kitchen and threw in a few water bottles from the refrigerator, and went back to the living room. My mom was rubbing Annabeth's back.
"Alright, honey, you need to get your things together. I don't think you want my son to do that for you," she teased. Annabeth shook her head and got up, throwing an extremely grateful glance towards my mom. She smiled back.
Five minutes later Annabeth had a green backpack over her shoulder, winter coat on, boots laced, and her hat in her hand. My own boots were shoved on my feet, and my coat was zipped. In my frenzy, I had almost ripped the zipper right off. If Annabeth knew that, she would have laughed at me.
As it was, her face was still upset, and my mom knew it.
"I'll take you two to Camp Half-Blood," she offered. "That way I won't have to worry about you both getting there safely." She buttoned up her coat and grabbed her keys. She locked the apartment door behind her. I knew that it would be a while before I walked through that door again.
It was extremely dark outside when we left the building, and I could feel the moisture hovering in the air. I assumed fog. The car door opened, and I quickly clambered into the backseat next to Annabeth. We shivered in the cold under our coats, and I slid closer to Annabeth.
"Body heat," I chattered to her as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. My mom blasted the heat, and she backed out of the parking spot.
We were halfway to Camp Half-Blood when I remembered Cetus.
"Cetus!" I gasped. "Oh no!"
"He's following the car," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. Good old Annabeth. "He caught your scent, and is about ten feet behind us. Of course, in this darkness, you can't see him."
"So how do you know that he's following?"
"Because I caught a glimpse of him hovering in the shadows when we got in the car. And, if you listen, you can hear his paws on the cement." Why did I always have to be so...unobservant sometimes? Oh yeah, Annabeth was right next to me. All of my focus was on her at the moment. The smell of her hair that reached about halfway down her back, the way her gray eyes sparkled when she looked up at me, the way her lips curved when she smiled wryly, how pretty her tan skin was.
There's my answer.
I didn't worry about anything else for the rest of the trip. I only concentrated on Annabeth, her warm body next to mine, her fingers entwined in mine.
"I'm really worried," she whispered to me as we approached Half-Blood Hill.
"You should be," I informed her. "It's your mother, the goddess of wisdom. You've got to worry about how she got into that mess. Whoever it was had to be really smart to capture your mom. So you know it couldn't have been me."
"No, you're pretty smart, Percy." She shook her head. "You just don't...choose the things that are right in front of your face. There are things that I would never believe that you wouldn't see."
"Like what?" I wondered as my mom parked the car. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky, and I could see the clouds that were rolling around the camp's borders.
"Let's go," she said instead of answering, opening the door and grabbing up her backpack. I slid out and shouldered mine, then said goodbye to my mom.
"I'll see you soon," I promised. "Hopefully." She smiled.
"I love you, Percy," she said, kissing my forehead. I hugged her, which surprised her. She held on tight, nearly crushing my lungs, but I didn't say anything. Eventually she let go, and enveloped Annabeth in one of her suffocating hugs.
"You'll always have a home with us," she said lowly, so I wouldn't hear. Oops. I did anyways.
"Thanks, Ms. Jackson. You're been so nice." Girls and their hormones. Honestly, it was like they were both going to start crying for no apparent reason, and then start laughing because they know that it's pointless. Thankfully, that didn't happen. My mom only kissed Annabeth on her forehead, and got back into the car.
We climbed up the hill and over, looking down at the camp. A single light was on in the Big House, so we quickly made our way down there. We had no time to loose.
A few naiads looked up out of the river as we knocked on the door, but, thankfully, they kept silent. The door handle rattled, and eventually the door opened, revealing Mr. D in his usual colorful attire.
"Mr. D," Annabeth greeted. "We're extremely sorry if we woke you, but we need help."
"Oh? And what can I do for you, Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson?" I was surprised that he got my name right. At least my last name.
"Well, her mom, Athena, is in trouble," I supplied.
"I am well aware of who her mother is, thank you. But I find it hard to believe that the goddess of wisdom is in trouble," he replied moodily.
"I've had dreams," Annabeth put in, "And they're always her trapped somewhere. Which can't be good, seeing as I rarely have dreams about anybody."
"So, let me guess," he mused, rubbing his chin. "You want a quest, a chat with the Oracle, and someone else to go along with you?" Annabeth nodded. "Sorry, no can do."
"But, Mr. D., we need help!" she protested. "I just can't ignore my dreams, sir! Please, tell us that you'll help?"
"What's all this," a familiar voice came from behind the camp director.
"Chiron!" I exclaim without thinking. Mr. D shot me an annoyed look, but otherwise ignored me.
"Percy, Annabeth!" He trotted up next to us, his great hooves clopping noisily against the floor. "I can assume that this isn't merely a pleasurable visit?" I shook my head.
Annabeth explained everything to him, and Chiron looked at Mr. D reproachfully. "We must help them. They will find a way to go whether we let them or not." He pointedly looked at me, and I ducked my head. "So, we might as well let them have their way. Go, visit the Oracle, my dear, and Percy and I will get other supplies ready. When the campers awake, you may choose another companion to go along with you two." I nodded, and Annabeth made her way to the Oracle while I followed Chiron to the Hephaestus tool shed.
"I'm sure they won't mind if I let you borrow a few things," Chiron mumbled, looking around for something useful. "Ah." He handed me a few scary-looking cylinders.
"Um...what are they?" I asked, turning them around in my hands.
"Explosives. You may need a couple," he replied offhandedly. He handed me a couple more items, briefly explaining each one. "Detonators, for distractions. You don't have an invisibility cap to get away like Annabeth." A couple black orbs was what I got. He handed me a long tube. "Throw one of these, and a multitude of arrows will fly out and hit your targets. I know that you cannot handle a bow very well. That is something to work on when you get back. But be careful that you do not throw it backwards, otherwise you will be the ones speared with them." Chiron, always expecting more from me. I really appreciated him for pressing me so hard. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be half as good as I was now. And I'd probably be dead, too.
We left the tool shed and went back to the Big House, where Annabeth was sitting dejectedly on the steps. She looked up at our approach but said nothing.
"What did the Oracle say?" Chiron asked, holding out a hand and helping her to her feet.
"Nothing." So that's what the problem was. "It didn't say anything." Chiron pondered that for a moment.
"You try, Percy. Maybe it will speak to you," he ordered. I shrugged and headed towards the old bag of bones. I met the sack of bones halfway up the stairs. She opened her mouth and spoke to me.
"What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wild one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread."
Her mouth closed, and I left feeling more confused then when Rachel said that I was blind.
Annabeth and Chiron were looking at me when I met back up with them.
"First, the old hag will need to be moved back upstairs," I said before either one could ask me. "Second, this is what she told me: 'What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wile one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread.'"
"Alright. Before we get another member, we need to let Cetus through the barrier. I can't believe I forgot about him!" Annabeth exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air. We all made our way back towards Half-Blood Hill, where I could hear Cetus's whines.