Here is the next chapter my loves! Please read and enjoy and tell me what you think! Everything is coming together in this chapter! :)
Dead in the Water
Percy
We have been sailing for almost a day now and we are finally approaching the cliff where the cave that holds the Sword of Achilles is located in. It's been a long and eventful journey but we are here. This is where we need to all set aside our differences and get the thing that we are here for so that we can somehow defeat Kronos. And that also means that I have to play with the possibility of death.
Annabeth has been knocked out for a whole day and I still feel really guilty about it. Hazel keeps telling me that I shouldn't be and that she killed her only last living relative.
In the distance, there is a large steep cliff and on top of it there is a large cave where black ravens are flying around it.
"That's it. That's the cave of Achilles." Hazel whispers as she holds up the map. My heart stops as I continue to sail the boat towards the beach underneath the daunting cliff.
"Well I guess we are here. How to we get up there?" I ask.
"We climb dumbasses." Annabeth says groggily.
Both Hazel and I turn quickly and Hazel glares at Annabeth, "Oh joy you are awake."
"Yay do you have a problem with that?" Annabeth snaps back and strains against the chains around her. "What the hell is this! Let me go!"
"Not unless you apologize for killing Hazel's grandaunt and promise her that you won't try to kill her. If you don't then I will be more then happy to knock you out for another two days." I tell her roughly, expressing my anger and that my threat is real even though I don't want to do it again.
"Fine. I'm sorry Hazel. I'm sorry you were too defenseless-."
"ANNABETH!" I scream at her and finally she listens.
"FINE! I'm sorry. Truly."
"Whatever. Let's just get that sword and go home so I never have to see your face again." Hazel mutters as she unchains Annabeth. Annabeth rubs her wrists and wince at her bruises and cuts.
"Geez, you didn't hold back did you Kelp Face?" She smirks at me and I finally turn away and focus back on getting us to the cliff.
It only takes a few minutes for us to dock onto the beach and for me to anchor our ship to it.
"So what's the plan? How are we going to climb up there?" Hazel asks.
"Well unlike you idiots, I actually read up on the location and knew there was a giant cliff that we needed to climb. So I brought climbing gear." Annabeth says as she grabs the gear out of her bag.
"Alright then we do it your way, Annabeth." I concede and hop off the boat onto the sandy shore.
"Well there only is enough rope for two people to climb. So I guess you are stuck here Hazel!" Annabeth smiles devilishly at Hazel and Hazel looks like she wants to slap her.
"No freaking way to I trust you alone with Percy. For all we know you could kill him for beating you up. And besides the last thing we need is an emotionless loose cannon." Hazel fires back and now Annabeth wants to punch her.
"ALRIGHT! Enough!" I yell before anything happens between them. "Hazel, I need you to stay on the boat and use your cloaking spell to hide it incase we attracted any enemies. Annabeth and I will climb up, get the sword and get back-."
"Unless you die like the prophecy says. Because then you wouldn't be coming back and it's a win-win for all of us." Annabeth mutters and I glare at her.
"Whatever happens up there to me Hazel, I need you to get the sword back. No matter what. Promise me?"
"I-I promise. But just be alert alright?" Hazel says and I nod.
"I'll try." I smile and squeeze her shoulder as I pass her and say to Annabeth.
"Let's get this over with."
Annabeth gets the climbing equipment ready and flings an anchor on top of the cliff. She pulls on the rope to make sure it's stable and says, "Alright. We are ready." She starts to climb and I look at Hazel one more time as I follow her up the rope.
As we are climbing, small little rocks fall from underneath my shoes and my eyes follow them down, looking at how high we have already gotten.
"Don't you know not to look down." Annabeth asks as she continues.
"I do know that."
"Then why are you looking down? Are you wanting to go back because this might be the end of the road for you?" She asks annoyed and I answer honestly.
"No I don't want to go back. I have worked too hard to get better so I could come here and fulfill my destiny. I haven't really given too much thought about dying until now."
"And what? Are you scared?"
"I don't know. Maybe? I feel like if I die in there then all of this has been a waste and I would have failed everyone."
Annabeth says quietly, "Death is an escape. You shouldn't be afraid of it."
"You aren't afraid of death?" I ask her and she stops and looks at me.
"I'm not afraid of anything. I don't feel fear anymore."
"Why? Is it because of the war?" I ask curiously as I move my hand up onto a sturdy rock and pull myself up.
She pauses and I look at her. She seems to searching for an answer but nothing is coming up.
"So it's not because of the war?" I ask worriedly. This is the first time in weeks where she is looks lost. She is completely frozen and searching for something that's lost. Maybe I was right. Something happened and that's why she is so cruel. The Annabeth that I knew and loved is somewhere in there.
"I-I don't know." She finally answers and turns to continue her climb.
"What happened to you, Annabeth?" I ask as I follow her up. We are nearing the top of the cliff and I can finally see the cave up close.
"Nothing happened alright! Just drop it!" She yells down at me and I push on either way.
"No, something did happen to you and I know that this isn't you Annabeth. Something happened and I need to know so if I-."
"What! If you die! Why do you care so fucking much! THIS IS WHO I AM NOW! I know it's not who you loved or who Hazel was friends with, but people change and I changed. So go ahead and go into that cave, Percy! I don't care if you live or die because I DON'T LOVE YOU! You don't mean anything to me! All you are to me is a means to an end. And that end is Kronos."
Her words hit me just as hard as they did a couple of weeks again when Hazel and her were talking. But I know something is wrong and I know she is struggling. But she is right, this is who she is now. A murderous, emotionless, and frightened young woman who refuses to fight what is hurting her. And I can't help her because I have tried before and I am done. After this mission, once we get back I never want to see her face again. If anything I will go back to the base or the frontlines just to stay away from her.
"Fine. Let's just get the sword."
"Fine." She says as she climbs up and stands on the edge of the cliff. I reach the ledge and pull myself up. I stand up and pull out Riptide and start towards the cave, angry and determined.
"Do you even know what you are doing?" Annabeth asks annoyed with her arms crossed and I glare at her.
"Well unlike you, I looked up what I was facing inside the cave. So who is the idiot now?" I quip back at her and then I turn and walk into the cave, not even turning back to look at Annabeth.
ANNABETH
Percy steps into the cave and disappears. All I can say is thank gods we finally found the cave because now he can stop asking me if anything is wrong and keep telling me that I have changed. I know something is wrong but I don't know what. I don't feel any regret for breaking Percy's pathetic heart. I definitely don't feel any remorse for killing Hazel's great aunt. I know I have changed but I don't care because I don't see what's wrong with it.
I sit down on a rock across from the cave. Time seems to pass slowly and I am extremely bored that I even contemplate throwing my knife down at Hazel to see if I can hit her. But I decide that she would probably freak out again and be a baby like she was before.
All of a sudden, the sky above me because darker and the winds start to pick up as dead leaves swirl angrily around me. I close my eyes to prevent my eyes from getting something in them. When I look up, the dead Oracle is standing right before me.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I ask the creepy lady staring at me.
" Poor child. Your service is complete. You have done far better then I would have imagined."
She raises her hand to her lips and blows at me. Suddenly, my body seizes up and all of these unfamiliar and lost feelings come back to me, love, guilt, longing, regret, happiness, sadness and many more. And with all of these emotions comes the memories that are associated with them. My pure and honest love for Percy, now destroyed. The guilt of killing all those people in villages during the war and…Hazel's great aunt and those innocent people I murdered for no reason. Each of their faces hits me and I fall to my knees as the weight of their deaths and the weight of my guilt crushes me. All of those long nights sailing on the sea and looking at Percy, not knowing why I am staring at him but now realizing that I was longing for him to be with me again, to tell me that he loved me instead of hated my very existence. My regrets and guilt and pain for everything that I have done come crashing onto my soul like the huge waves hitting the rocks below.
"Wh-what are you doing to me. S-stop." I sob as I look up at the wrinkled face of the Oracle.
"I am only giving you back your emotions dear. These are yours. I just borrowed them for a bit."
"S-so you took my emotions! Why-why make me some heartless bitch! What do you have to gain?"
"Because my dear as you can see our emotions and feelings are a very powerful thing. Your love for Percy and his love for you is so powerful that with the right persuasion, you would have made him not come here and fulfill his destiny. And to stop that, I had to take away your emotions. Without them, you felt no love for Percy or anyone. You were ruthless which made him hate you and he focused his energies on proving himself to everyone and getting the sword. This needed to be done for the greater good. You needed to drive Percy away so he could come here and face his fate."
The pain of all this new information makes my head pound and I hold my head as my hands shake, " So you took everything that made me who I am, who Percy loved for the greater good. I couldn't even fight against it."
"Oh it was hard at first to make you feel nothing for Percy. There were moments were I had to try very hard in the beginning but eventually your emotionless state took over and you drove Percy away. You did your duty to this quest and for that the world will be thankful."
"My duty?! How is this my duty and how do you believe that anyone will understand what happened to me! No one is ever going to believe this!" I look up at the Oracle with hot, wet tears streaming down my face. " How do you expect me to spin this story huh? Oh hey guys, some dead oracle turned off my emotions and made me this raging bitch but I am better now! You took everything from me. I killed and drove the one person who loves me away, and now he...oh my gods. He could die and he will die believing that I never loved him. He thinks I am a heartless monster!"
"I can't be accountable for your actions while you were emotionless, Annabeth. That was all your doing. But I will give you one thing in gratitude for your service. I will make sure that either way, Percy will know the truth about what I did to you. If he dies in there, he will die knowing that you weren't yourself and that you still had feelings for him."
The winds start to blow hard again and I turn my eyes away from the Oracle. When the weather dies down again, the Oracle is gone and I am alone in the pain of what I have done.
PERCY
As I turned away and started to enter the cave, I realized I should have brought some light because it's pretty dark inside. I walk a little further and stop in front of a large fountain of water. In my research, which by the way took forever to track down, the ancient scrolls that I could find stated that before anyone began their journey in the cave, they had to give their blood to the fountain. It was a way to make sure that only descendants of my dad could enter. I hold Riptide lightly against the palm and slowly cut my skin. Blood streams out and I squeeze my hand over the water and my blood falls into the clear liquid.
"Enter son of Poseidon" an ancient deep voice calls and I hold my hand as I cross the threshold of the cave. Suddenly, torches against the wall light up and the flames guide me along the cave. I carefully walk inside the cave with my guard up. Up ahead a large stone pillar with a golden sword rise from the ground. I quickly walk towards it and inspect the sword. This is the sword of Achilles and this could be my only shot to save the world. I slowly go to touch it but the same voice from before stops me.
"Do you really think it's that easy son of Poseidon?"
I turn and a ghostly figure of Achilles is standing before me.
"A guy can hope right. So if it's not just getting the sword and leaving then what to I have to do." I answer.
Achilles holds up a platter with three gold cups.
"Drink young hero. But think carefully, one cup is the difference between life and death."
I look at all three of the cups. One has a red liquid to it, another is green and the last one is clear. I contemplate and go over in my head which one to choose, but I have no idea which one stands for which curse. To I chose the one what would kill me? The one that will take away my memories or the last curse that I am still unsure about. In the end there is no way of knowing and I pray to my mother to guide me.
"I will go with the clear one." I answer and pick up the small clay cup. I look down and slowly bring the cup to my lips and drink it. At first I feel nothing and it doesn't taste like anything. But suddenly my insides start to burn and my legs collapse. I fall to the hard, dirt ground and hold my head, which is on fire. I chose the wrong one, I am going to die. I start to think about all that I have done, who I have lost and loved and everything that I wanted to do. I wanted so much and I wanted to be someone but now that all seems lost. My vision starts to blur and my insides churn. I try to blink but instead of seeing the cave, I see the Oracle who gave me this prophecy.
"This isn't the end young hero. It's just an obstacle." She says.
"Then why do I feel like I am dying!" I ask worriedly and she looks straight at me.
"It will pass. But I have a message to deliver. Your beloved Annabeth is back. The girl you loved and longed for all of these long and painful weeks. She is back to herself and she is drowning in her grief."
"W-what do you mean?"
"I turned her emotions off for the sake of getting you here, to your fate. If she would have been her normal self, your love for her would have jeopardized the whole mission and in the end you would not have gone through with getting the sword out of fear of dying. So I took her emotions and she drove you away from her and she lead you here. To your destiny."
I blink again and she is gone. My vision starts to clear and my insides don't feeling like they are burning anymore. I just feel very weak and tired. Slowly, I stand up and the ghost of Achilles hands me the sword.
"This is the key to defeating Kronos. You need to find where this fits and then you will be able to stop him."
"But I thought this was the weapon to defeating him. That's what all of my research and what Athena said. This weapon is powerful enough to kill Kronos." I question and Achilles looks at me with his pale eyes.
"As I have said. This is just a key. Find where it fits and then you will be able to stop him. Now go before the cave collapses and all of this would be a waste."
"Alright-wait what!?" I ask confused and Achilles's ghost is gone. Above me the walls of the cave start to tremor and I run as fast as I can to the entrance. I used to be able to run faster but whatever I drank really wore me out. Behind me the cave walls are crumbling and I try to run faster but my legs aren't working. Finally I am almost to the entrance and as the walls start to cave in, I dive onto the rocky ground outside the cave, just in time before the cave collapses into giant rocks. I stand grasping the sword of Achilles in my hand and my body struggling to get enough oxygen. When the dust clears, I finally get a chance to look around for Annabeth and I find her.
Standing across from me is Annabeth and she looks different. Her face is red with fresh, wet tears and her body is trembling. She looks so broken and guilt ridden and I am conflicted about what to do. The Oracle said she wasn't herself and I believe that. Right now I can see it on her face that she is beating herself up about everything she has done. But how am I going love her again after everything she has done to me. How can I forgive her?
"P-Percy. Oh thank gods you are alright!" She says relieved and comes running over to me. She hugs me gently and my hands are frozen at my sides. I don't know if I should hug her back or push her off me. I am so conflicted right now. Before I went into the cave, I never wanted to see her face again. But now I don't know what I want.
Annabeth's head is settled against my chest and she says sobbing now, "I am so sorry for everything that I done. The Oracle she took-."
"Yah I know. She came to me while I was trying to figure out if I was dying or not." I answer flatly.
"No-I am so sorry. I-I did terrible things Percy. I…oh gods I broke a child's neck. I killed him Percy oh gods. I-I killed him!" She screams and her screams turn into uncontrollable sobbing and her legs start to give out. She slides down to the ground and I follow her. I hold her close against my chest and she wails into my shoulder, her body shaking.
"Annabeth, calm down. Ssh." I comfort her even though I don't know where we stand. But either way she needs me right now as the weight of her guilt and her emotions start to destroy her. I hold her tight as we are both kneeling on the ground.
Finally, Annabeth looks up at me and places her hand on my face. She traces her hand gently over my cheeks and runs her fingertips over my lips. I close my eyes in pain and because of the warmth of her touch once again.
"I love you, Percy. I always have and I always will. Please forgive me. Please I need to know that you are still with me. Please." She asks and I don't respond because I don't know how to respond to her. I open my eyes and look down at Annabeth's face. Her watery grey eyes are starling and I feel like I could forgive her and we could be the couple we once were. But then my eyes fall to her bruised cheekbones and cut lips and I remember how she got those. I fought her because she killed innocent people and that's not something I can forget. Although when she came back from the war I forgave her but that is because she had to do what she needed to do. It was the price of warfare. But her recent murders were not necessary or slightly justified. They were cruel and senseless and I can't forgive her for that. I don't know if I ever can.
Annabeth looks at me and she lowers her hands to cup my face as she leans in to kiss me. My heart tells me to forgive her and let her kiss me but my brain tells me I can't. Her lips brush my lips and I gently grab her wrists and pull them away from my face. I push her away to face me and she says, "Percy, please."
"Annabeth, I can't-I can't kiss you. I don't know if I still love you anymore to be honest. I do have feelings for you but I just-I can't forgive you for what you have done. You made fun of my mother's dead and you told me that you don't love me weeks ago. At first I tried to figure out what happened and for a while I thought it was my fault. I blamed myself for weeks and then you started to be cruel and I stopped trying to get you back. And then you senselessly killed twelve people including Hazel's relative and now you expect me just to take you back because you have your emotions. I know you are hurting Annabeth and I will be there to help you but as far as you and I go…I just need space. I-I can't be with you right now not after everything you have done. I can't forget about it."
She backs away from me and her face is full of hurt. Her bottom lip trembles and she says, "Alright. That's understandable."
We are in silence for a bit and finally she asks, "So if you didn't die and you obviously remember everything, then what was your curse."
"I'm not sure. The curse said weakness so maybe I will just be needing more naps."
"I guess." She says quietly and looks away. Eventually she stands and states, " We probably should climb down now."
"Yah Hazel is probably going insane." I answer and we both stand up. Suddenly, my breath hitches and my legs fail and I fall to the ground. I wince and Annabeth touches my shoulder but I push her away.
"Are you alright?" She asks.
"Perfect. I guess I am just a little weak from having my insides feel like they are on fire." I slowly stand up again and grab the rope, carefully ignoring Annabeth's concerned face.
"Percy, you should rest." She says gently and I snap at her even though I don't mean to.
"Annabeth just because you got your emotions back and have feelings towards me again doesn't mean you have the right to tell me what to do. You didn't give I shit about what I did before and now all of the sudden you do. You can't have it both ways alright!"
"Percy I get that you are angry and you have every right to be but let's not forget that I was there for you when you were hurting-."
"Oh so being gone for six months when I was at my worst is your version of being there for me? I couldn't speak or see you because you were on the frontlines killing people once again! That's your version of being there for me." I scream and she has a look of pure hurt and anger.
Finally she yells back, "Do you think I wanted this! Do you think if feels good that I killed those people and that I drove you away! I keep replaying everything in my mind and all of the faces keep popping in my head and I can't stop it, Percy. But don't think for one second that I left your side."
"YOU DID WHEN YOU TOLD ME YOU NEVER LOVED ME ANNABETH!" I scream at the top of my lungs and my voice echoes off the mountains.
Her eyes well up and she turns away from me and starts to climb down. I sigh and calm myself down and go to start to climb down. My hands are shaking from the anger and my newfound weakness and I don't know what my future holds with this curse. I carefully put the end of the sword in my waistline and I start to climb down to try and figure out what to do next. I need to figure out what I want with Annabeth and I need to figure out the missing part to this sword. I have to find the missing link and finally put an end to Kronos once and for all.