Mortals

Chapter 11

I seem to start every author's note with an apology so I'm not going to apologize. We all know in our hearts that I am very sorry for the wait every time. In my defense, I did think about writing several times. I just never actually sat down and written stuff. But here is an extra-long chapter as compensation.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO

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Annabeth didn't show up for the rest of the week. I began to get worried. Who knew what Percy could be doing to her? It was Thursday night when I snapped. I needed to figure out what was going on. I figured that I should find some information about Percy before I rushed after him. Maybe I could find something that would prove to Annabeth that he is dangerous. Grabbing my computer, I sat down at my desk.

I typed 'Percy Jackson' into my search engine and clicked on the first link. An article popped up about a twelve-year-old boy who was the subject of a nation-wide man hunt. He had kidnapped his mother after crashing their car. Then he went across the country blowing up national monuments. I smiled when I saw the picture. He was younger, but there was no mistaking that unruly black hair and green eyes. This would surely convince Annabeth that Percy Jackson is a criminal.

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I saw her on Monday. She had a faraway look in her eyes. I could see worry in them. She looked tired. That made me mad. What had Percy done to her?

"Annabeth!" She turned to look at me. I shoved the article I had printed off into Annabeth's hands, feeling proud of myself. "Annabeth, Percy is a terrorist. It's not safe to be anywhere near him. He did this when he was twelve, Annabeth. It makes you wonder what he's doing now. I can protect you from him." I pleaded with her.

Annabeth looked over the article. She didn't seem at all concerned. In fact, she looked more amused than anything, maybe even a little wistful. "I remember that. Gods, everything was so simple then, even if we didn't realize it at the time."

I shifted uncomfortably, "You knew about this?" She snorted. "Knew about it? I was there. I was Percy's partner in crime. But if you had bothered to complete your research before you started blaming Percy, you would know that we were kidnapped and Percy stood up to our kidnapper and saved me and another kid we were with. So yes, I knew about this, and no, it's not really true."

I decided to try a different approach. "Last Monday, what was with you? You were never like than before you met Percy. He's a bad influence, and somehow he's managed to convince everyone around him that he's a good guy, even your Dad-"

She interrupted me. "You talked to my Dad? What the Hades! When are you going to stop stalking me and leave me alone? And just for your information, I've known Percy way longer than I've known you. I've told you this before; I met him when I was twelve. I met you when I was seventeen, after I had been dating Percy for over a year."

"Annabeth-"

"Stop. You know I was going to apologize for how I was acting last Monday, because I know I was really rude, but I don't think I'm going to now. Please just leave me alone or I will file for a restraining order."

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I entered the classroom so see Annabeth talking to Ms. Mason. Luckily I sat close enough to the front to hear what they were saying. Though, it wouldn't have been that hard to listen in anyway. The entire class was silent. They had all seen Annabeth's outburst. They wanted to see what would happen next.

"I'm really sorry about last Monday, Ms. Mason. I know that I was really disrespectful. I've just been really stressed lately. I'm having some… family problems." I didn't miss the hesitation in her voice when she said family problems. I'll have to look into that.

"That's alright, Annabeth. I accept your apology. And remember, if you ever need to talk, I will always be here to listen."

"Thank you, Ms. Mason." Annabeth came and sat back down in her seat. I knew better than to try to talk to her now. I would confront her at lunch.

"I have some exciting news, class. This Friday we will be going on a field trip. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a temporary exhibit full of ancient Greek artifacts. In fact, it is the largest collection of ancient Greek relics in the world." I looked over at Annabeth. She loved these kinds of things. Her eyes had lit up at the prospect of a trip to a museum, but she wasn't as excited as normal. She seemed preoccupied.

As it turned out, I didn't speak to Annabeth at lunch. She disappeared and I didn't see her again until the end of the lunch break. I'll catch her after school I promised myself.

I saw her talking to Percy after school. They were off to the side away from the mass of students eager to get home. Both of them seemed upset. Maybe they would finally break up. I got close enough to hear what they were saying, but not enough for them to notice me.

"Did you find anything?" Percy asked.

"No, all the books just say that it disappeared after Bellerophon died. Have you talked to Nico? Did he find any leads?"

"No, neither has Thalia, Jason, Reyna, or Grover. No one's found anything."

Annabeth kicked a rock and it went sailing across the grass. "Ugh! And you've talked to Pegasus? Are you sure he won't help on his own free will?"

"Yeah, he was pretty clear about that. Something about proving myself before he would let a mere mortal ride him. How many times do I have to prove myself before the gods just help us?"

"I don't think that's ever going to happen, Percy. Unfortunately, that's not how the gods work." Annabeth sighed.

"Are you sure we need him, Annabeth? We've fought bad things before, why do we need Pegasus for this one?"

"I just have a feeling. I know that we can't win this war without him, don't ask me how I know, I just do. So if we can't find that bridle we've already lost."

Percy stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head. "Hey, we have everyone from both camps looking. We'll find it. Don't worry, we'll figure things out. We always have before, right?"

"I guess," Annabeth sighed again. She tilted her head and kissed him on the cheek. "I forgot my books in my locker, I'll be right back."

I waited until she disappeared inside before following her. I would intercept her on her way back out and make it look like I stumbled into her on accident. I strolled casually in the direction of Annabeth's locker.

"Oh, hey Annabeth. I didn't see you there. Can I talk to you?"

"You know I wasn't kidding about that restraining order." She said flatly.

I laughed, she wouldn't actually do it. "Anyway, I accidently heard you talking to Ms. Mason this morning and I wanted to ask if you were okay. I am more than happy to listen."

"Oh yes, I sometimes accidently on purpose listen in on other people's private conversations as well. Don't act all surprised, I know that the entire class was listening. And like always, I'm fine, thank you."

"I heard you hesitant before you said family problems. It's Percy isn't it?"

Annabeth didn't answer at first. All she did was take deep breaths and mutter under her breath something that sounded like 'remember what Chiron said, remember what he said.' "Obviously you will never leave me alone until I tell you what you want to hear so hear it goes. Yes, Percy has kidnapped me and is holding my family hostage. He hits me every night and is extremely violent. He is addicted to drugs and alcohol. He also enjoys kicking puppies and bullying small children."

"I knew it. Annabeth, you need to contact the police."

She just stared at me. "How thick are you?" She asked incredulously before walking away.

I followed her. She greeted Percy with a quick kiss. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"You remember Bret right? Yeah, I just told him that you were an extremely violent, abusive boyfriend who kidnapped my family and me. I also told him that your hobbies include kicking puppies."

'No Annabeth,' I thought. 'Don't tell him that he'll get angry at you and who knows what he'll do.'

Percy laughed. "Yep, that sounds like me. The big and scary Percy Jackson. I'm pretty sure I couldn't kidnap you if I tried. You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'd kick your butt." Annabeth laughed as well. They walked away and I made a split second decision to follow them. Percy was obviously hiding his anger until he could get Annabeth alone.

"I need to go to camp. I want to talk to Chiron and check up on how the search is going." Annabeth told Percy as they stepped into a blue Prius.

I heard Percy say, "sure thing," before the doors of the car closed. I quickly jumped in my car and pulled out behind them. Ok, so maybe it was a little stalkerish, but Annabeth was in danger. Surely that justified my actions.

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Percy stopped on the side of the highway at the bottom of a hill in the middle of nowhere. It was worse than I thought. No one would find a body out here. I had to stop this, but how? I had driven past them so it wasn't obvious that I was following them. I parked just out of sight, and I quickly ran back to where Percy had parked his car. I arrived just in time to see Percy and Annabeth disappearing over the top of the hill. They were holding hands and playfully shoving each other. Oh Annabeth, she was so naïve. I had to get her out of this situation.

I ignored the voice in my head that told me not to approach. It got more persistent as I climbed the hill. It must have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that it was getting physically harder to climb the hill. My feet got heavier with every step. The last thing I remember was getting to the top of the hill and looking down at an empty valley. Percy and Annabeth were gone.

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I woke up in my car many hours later. Or at least I assumed it was hours because it was dark outside now. "What happened?" I said aloud. My voice sounded like a frog and I had a headache. How did I get here? I couldn't remember anything since I had talked to Annabeth this afternoon. I groaned and started my car. All I wanted to do was flop down on my bed and pass out.

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On Friday, everyone in Ms. Mason's class arrived at school fifteen minutes early. I saw Annabeth getting dropped off by Percy. We all loaded the bus and soon we were off to the museum.

The tour guide led us through the exhibit pointing out different artifacts and talking about their history. Occasionally I could hear Annabeth mumble, 'wrong' or 'actually, they were made out of bronze, but the good ones were made out to celestial bronze.' I had no idea how she knew all this, or what the heck celestial bronze was.

Annabeth froze when we stopped to look at one object. Her eyes went wide and she just stared at it. I heard the guide say, "This golden bridal was found only about three months ago at a dig site near Mt. Olympus, the mountain where the ancient Greeks believed the gods lived. It was mostly likely made for a king or some other wealthy person in ancient times. As far as scientists can tell, it is made out of pure gold, which was extremely hard to get during that time period. The only problem with it is that it's not very practical. Gold is very heavy so it would add extra weight for the horse to carry. But it was most likely made as a show of wealth, and not for practicality." She looked at her watch. "It looks like it's time for lunch. You are welcome to take a look around. We will meet back here in about twenty minutes."

Most of the students started walking towards the front of the Museum, where we had put our lunches, but Annabeth ran off in a different direction. Guess what? I followed her. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"I found it." She sounded breathless.

"Great!" I knew that voice, it was Percy. "Where is it?"

"That's the problem. It's on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We can't exactly just walk up and take it."

"I'll be right there. Then we'll figure out a way to get it. Just keep an eye on it."

"Nothing's going to happen to it in the fifteen minutes it takes for you get here, Seaweed brain. But I have a bad feeling about this. It's too easy. If Pegasus wants you to prove yourself, there should be more security."

"You think it's a trap." Percy said.

"Yeah,"

"So it's just like every other thing we've been sent to retrieve, and there's absolutely no other way to get it except to spring the trap."

"Pretty much. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you too, Wise girl."

Annabeth walked around the corner and I quickly slipped behind a stand with an old Greek pot sitting on it. Annabeth paused and sighed before walking back towards the golden bridal. Was Percy forcing her to steal it? It seemed like the sort of thing he would do. And he said he was coming here. What about school? What could possibly be more important than education?

Annabeth approached the podium with the golden bridal. As soon as she got within two steps, the doors burst open. Two giant lizard things came crashing in. No, they were crocodiles. But how did they get here? Did they escape from the zoo? People screamed and scattered. The employees were trying to calm everyone down, but they looked just as panicked as everyone else. The crocodiles looked around for a second before rushing straight towards Annabeth. Now was my chance to be her hero.

"Annabeth!" I yelled before I ran and stepped in front of her. "Run, I'll hold them off!"

What she did next surprised me. She was supposed to look at me heroically before running to safety, maybe even kiss me. But instead she just pushed me rather roughly out of the way. "Get out of my way, Idiot!" The crocodiles were on top of her before I could get back up. Incredibly, she fought them off. She had a ruler in her hand. I didn't know where she had gotten it or why she thought it would be a good idea to fight off a wild animal with it, but she seemed to know how to use it. "If you want to be useful, get everyone out of here!" she yelled at me. "Any time now would be great Percy." She said to herself. I just sat on the floor and stared. She stabbed one of the crocodiles in the back and it disappeared. What? Where did it go? It must have run off, my mind told me.

"I told you to be careful!" I heard a voice behind me yell. "Did you touch it?"

"No, Percy! As soon as I got near it though, these things showed up."

"What are they?" Percy was now by her side and they were both fighting the last crocodile, but it was smarter than its companion. It didn't get close enough to get stabbed. They both seemed very skilled at fighting with measuring sticks, Percy had a yard stick.

"I'm working on that." Annabeth replied. Just then the crocodile roared. It was so loud that people in California could probably here it. Cracks appeared in the marble floor and different artifacts toppled off their stands. Percy and Annabeth were thrown backwards. Percy crashed into a collection of black and orange pots, and Annabeth hit the wall with a sickening crack.

"Annabeth!" Percy cried. He was bleeding all over from where the shards of clay had cut him.

Annabeth sat up with a groan. Her hair was matted with blood and she looked dazed, but she stood up and said, "I'm fine. They're neades, Percy. They're native to the island of Samos and their roar can split the earth."

"I can see that. I'll distract it, you get behind it." Annabeth nodded and rushed off. "Hey lizard thing, over here!" Percy yelled. The crocodile spun around and rushed him. Percy jabbed with his sword and managed to cut off the crocodile's toe, but that just made it mad. He kept slicing and stabbing until the thing got a lucky hit in. Percy flew again and hit the water fountain. It broke and water spewed everywhere. "You really shouldn't have done that." Percy smirked. The water seemed to revive him. He raised his hands and suddenly the water changed direction. It hit the crocodile head on. The water pushed it back. Its claws scratched the marble floor as it tried to regain its footing. "Now, Annabeth!"

Annabeth jumped down from the rafters and landed on top of the crocodile. She stabbed her ruler through the top of its head and it disappeared just like the other one.

I looked at Annabeth in amazement, but even as I sat there, staring at the wreckage, my memories changed.

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There had been an earthquake. It destroyed the museum and many of the objects inside. The earthquake had also damaged the crocodile enclosure in the zoo nearby, and two of them had gotten out and had found their way into the museum. Luckily, no one was hurt. The employees had gone through and done an inventory check. Many of the pots were broken beyond repair, and the golden bridal had been utterly destroyed, there wasn't even a piece left that was big enough to be seen. Percy and Annabeth had disappeared. Ms. Mason told me that Annabeth's guardian was worried and wanted her to come home. Most of the students were heading home early. After all, it's not every day that your field trip gets interrupted by an earthquake. I decided that I would talk to Annabeth tomorrow and I loaded the bus so I could get my car from the school and go home.

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I didn't go back and proof read it( I know I should but I'm not going to) so if there are any mistakes (like POV switches, I tend to do that a lot. My default is Annabeth's POV so I will just switch in the middle of the chapter without warning.) please tell me. I gave you guys an extra-long chapter as an apology gift for leaving you for so long. Usually my chapters are just over 1,000 words, but this one is almost 3,500. I got the idea to use neades came from CJM86. Thank you for that, even though it was a long time ago. By the way, I didn't know how to convey the fight scene through Bret's eyes while still letting you know what was going on so I wrote it and then had his memories change, but I think that the mist would automatically change it, so that's not really how it happened. His memories changed immediately to fit with his version of reality, if that makes any sense.

So, I've figured out my problem. Whenever I get inspired, I decide that I need to walk around so I can organize my thoughts, then I become uninspired. I can't even tell you how many times if gotten up, gone downstairs into the kitchen, looked for something to eat, then come back upstairs empty- handed while I was writing this. And if I don't go to the kitchen, I go outside, walk around the house, and come back in.

QotD1: Thluke (Thalia and Luke) or lukabeth (Luke and Annabeth)?

AotD1: Thluke, Thluke, Thluke! Their story is so sad and their perfect for each other. Plus Percabeth forever, and Luke is 7 years older than Annabeth, I love how she sees him as an older brother, but not as a love interest, that's just not right.

QotD2: What are your plans for this summer?

AofD2: Eat, sleep, read, camp.