Oh, my god. After your previews went, a strong typhoon (hurricane for you Americans) is headed here. Which means... floods, and a very probable no class day tomorrow. Pray, guys, so I can update.
Also, I found time today (obviously) and I knew it was very likely, so, yeah, I fooled you.
This chapter begins with Percy's perspective of last chapter's events, mixes POVs a bit in the middle, and covers the stuff after.
Enjoy, and review so the typhoon will make it a no-class day tomorrow so I can update!
It's a hot day, and Percy is walking down the street, when the hellhound bursts out of the ground.
He isn't busy anyway, and there's nothing to do on Olympus, so he decides to just walk around. He won't admit it, but he's wandering around with some kind of hope that he'll run into Annabeth. Even if he knows it's totally impossible.
So that's what he's doing when the hellhound appears. At first, he's too shocked to move, but the shock soon wears off and his hand moves to his pocket, where he keeps his trusty pen/sword, Riptide. He uncaps it and the celestial bronze sword is ready for battle.
That is, if he can find the hellhound. He spots it in the distance, running. A few curses in Ancient Greek, and he takes off after the dog.
He has to chase it down some blocks until he sees it leap through a building's windows. A school, probably, judging by the teen-age screams he's hearing. Just great, he thinks, and tries to find another entrance, one that would bring him ahead of the monster. He runs nearer to the school and searches for another way in, but it seems that his only option is to bust his way in. He summons water from a fountain he saw earlier, and its force is enough to punch a big hole in the wall.
Then it occurs to him that he could just teleport his way in, but it's a bit too late for that. He looks down the corridor and spots the hellhound running.
But that's not what really matters to him right now. It's who's right in front of him.
Her companion is bewildered, asking questions. Then it's her who talks.
"Perseus Jackson, what are you doing here?"
He momentarily forgets the monster. All he sees is her, all he hears is her. It feels like paradise to him.
Then he sees the hellhound again, and he yells for them to get out of the way. They run just in time, as the giant dog leaps and faces Percy. He raises Riptide, preparing to kill—well, send it to Tartarus.
"Where's your weapon?" he asks her. "Don't you keep it with you?" The hellhound charges and he sidesteps.
"It's not like I expected this to happen!" she answers. "It's in the dorm. You have your sword, anyway. Besides, it's not like that thing can kill you."
"Don't argue with me right now! I don't want to fight with you anymore." The hellhound bares its fangs at him, and he stabs with Riptide, cutting a deep gash in the monster's side. It howls in pain. Another slash and the dog evaporates into dust.
When the battle is over with, Percy's eyes move to Annabeth. He intently studies her gaze, looking for any sign of emotion. Her eyes are fierce with anger, but there's also a little of something that he can't comprehend.
"To answer your question, I was chasing that hellhound."
"Thank you," she says. Her tone is cold.
"C'mon, Annabeth. Be a little less cold there, will you?"
"It's a bit hard to do that, you know? Considering what you did." She's not sure herself why she's being so harsh, but it's the approach that comes to her. She remembers her conversation with Denise the evening before, and maybe it's an outlet for all the pain she's been keeping inside.
"At least talk to me like we're friends. Put the past behind us. I'm not asking for more than that." Suddenly he's so confident, but he doesn't know where it's coming from.
"What's left to talk about?" she asks. "It's a bit awkward, don't you think?"
"Start over, Annabeth. Let's pretend we're two regular people having a friendly conversation."
"See, Percy? That's all it is, isn't it? Pretend. Let's pretend you're not immortal. Let's pretend we can have our happily ever after." Her tone is bitter, eyes filled with rage and sadness. The same things he'd seen and heard that day on the beach, when she tried to kill herself in the sea.
"Fine. Be that way. I was just trying to make up for things." She can see the godly power churning in his anger, a reminder of the power he now has. A reminder of the growing rift between them.
"Aphrodite talked to me. I know you were trying to do what's best for me. I appreciate that, Percy, but I've faced it, and you should, too. We just can't be."
"On the beach, when you tried to... I got your dagger for you." He hands it to her, and she takes it without a word.
He gives her one last look. A gaze filled with love. Then he disappears.
A hurricane is blowing in from the Atlantic. It's headed for New York. The newscaster advises citizens to stay indoors as the rains will be heavy.
Percy turns off the television and sighs. It's his anger, his sadness that created this hurricane. The storm that's going to hit Manhattan.
His father walks into his room. "I wasn't angry at anyone or anything in particular, Percy, and neither is your uncle Zeus. What's wrong?"
"I ran into Annabeth yesterday. I was chasing a hellhound, and it led me to her school." He sighs again.
"Hellhound? Hades have anything to do with this?" Poseidon asks.
"As far as I know, he doesn't. Why would he, anyway? Dog probably wanted something else aboveground."
"True," the sea god muses. "But that's not the reason I came here to talk. Annabeth has a point, son. She's a demigod. You are immortal."
"We can at least be friends! She doesn't even want that. I know I should give her what she wants, but without her, I..." he trails off.
"There are plenty of other girls out there, Percy. Besides, love isn't a staple of life. You have your friends. Your family."
"It just... it's all nothing without her," he says. Poseidon stares at his son, thinking, then leaves.
"So who was that guy?" Denise asks. "And what's up with the giant dog, and did you really call him immortal? What about the dagger? And what's the history between the two of you?"
"Shut up! That is none of your business. Although I suppose I'll have to tell you about some things."
It's the day after, and they're stuck in their dorm because of the heavy rain. Annabeth pretty much knows she indirectly caused the storm.
"Okay. So, how many of your parents have you met?" she asks.
"Only my dad. My mom... he doesn't like talking about her. Apparently he got her pregnant before she left, then nine months later she came back, gave him me and left. Never saw her again."
"That is because your mother is a goddess," Annabeth says.
"Uh... thanks for the compliment?"
"I mean a literal goddess. Do you know the myths of Greece?"
"The one with the twelve gods on top of that mountain? With all the heroes and stuff?"
"Yes. Your mother is one of those goddesses. The myths are real, Denise. And those gods are on top of the Empire State Building. They move with the heart of Western Civilization."
"Okay. That's quite a lot to take in, Annabeth. You do know you're sounding completely insane, right?"
"Yes, I know. That giant dog yesterday was a hellhound. A dog from the Underworld."
"And that very cute guy?"
"Is... a god." It's hard for her to say it out loud. To really admit how different they are.
"Cool. So, if you're not insane and actually telling the truth, that means..."
"Yes, we are demigods. For example, my mom is Athena, the goddess of wisdom."
"And you had something going with Mr. Very-Cute-God. Who's my mom, then?"
"That, I don't know. I'm smart, not psychic. Maybe a prayer will do. Pray to the gods of Olympus, ask for a sign. When school ends, I'll bring you to Camp Half-Blood. It's the training place for us demigods, so we can learn to survive the dangerous world of monsters."
"Considering I can't find a way to prove you wrong, I guess I should believe you. But really? All that stuff is true... I'm having a hard time believing it."
"Everyone does, don't worry."
"What about the cute guy? Which one is he, the god of cuteness?"
"You have been in the glorious presence of Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and god of seaweed brain," she says. The rain pours harder. "Been immortal since this summer. He was once a demigod, you know. Still is, I guess, only now can't die like the rest of us."
"And the history between you two?" Annabeth glares at her, but Denise pouts.
"Fine. Remember the story I told you, about my best friend in my last school?" She nods. "That was a metaphor. Percy was my best friend in camp. Then... my ex-bestfriend, Luke. He... he betrayed us. He joined the enemy. And then, this summer, when the war finally came, we... the only chance we had was to kill him. In the end, Luke came to his senses. And his dying wish... you know that part. But after that... well, the gods offered him immortality. And he took it."
"And that means you two won't have your happily ever after," Denise finishes. "So, you're saying there was a war here in Manhattan, and none of the world knows?"
"Complicated," she says. "I'm really tired. Can you save the questions for tomorrow?"
But there are much more complicated things than that.
Storming in New York! (though I don't know in real life) And storming in the Philippines! Also, while you review and pray for the strengthening of the storm, please pray that it won't hurt anyone while not making me go to school, so it's a win-win.
Next chapter: In Contemplative, Annabeth is getting stormed with her thoughts and choices and emotions—and this time, she comes to a choice that she makes—prompting a dinner and a visit from a goddess. Something has been started by last chapter—a shift in the direction the story is taking. Also, we get a peek at one of Percy's godly activities.
This has been longer than usual, anyway, review!