Chapter 18: Annabeth
Annabeth awoke in the infirmary. It seemed fitting. Her quest had begun in the infirmary and now had ended there. She sat up to see Chiron stood beside her. She looked up at the centaur.
"I know. Æther told me." Said Chiron. His eyes were red with tears. Annabeth burst out crying as she came to her senses. She had felt much pain in her life, but the loss of Percy was worse than any cut, any bruise or any break.
A grand funeral was held for Percy at Camp Half-Blood. Nico erected a statue in the lake. Every demigod from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter was in attendance. Annabeth saw Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis at the front of the crowd, sat with Tyson, Rachel, Calypso and the other members of the seven. Even the Olympians themselves showed up albeit briefly. Annabeth saw Poseidon in a way she had never seen a god before: humanised. The god of the sea looked broken. Leo lit an eternal flame outside the now empty Poseidon Cabin. The hilt of Riptide was buried by the lake.
Annabeth spent the week after the funeral in her cabin. She wouldn't speak to anyone. Her heart ached with pain. She also couldn't shake Æther's warning of a greater threat. Annabeth knew she should speak with Chiron, but couldn't muster the strength to face everyone. Luckily she didn't have to. Emerging from the Athena Cabin Annabeth snuck to the lake. She gazed out at the new statue of Percy. It protruded out of the water like an aquatic Statue of Liberty.
"Annabeth?" she turned to see Chiron standing behind her.
"Hi Chiron." She replied glumly.
"We need to talk."
"Can't it wait?"
"No. I know what Æther warned you about." Annabeth turned to face Chiron and rose to her feet.
In the big house Chiron laid out a scroll on the table. Unrolling it revealed it to be a map of the Mediterranean. Seven locations were marked across it.
"Chaos is rising." Said Chiron.
"Who?" asked Annabeth.
"The first god. The entity of existence. The father of the primordial gods. He does not have a consciousness like you and I, but rather is a force." Chiron turned to the map. "The ancients created seven citadels which contained him, but now only one remains. He is overpowering the final citadel. If the citadels' power isn't restored then the world will end."
"What are these citadels?" responded Annabeth.
"To mortals they are known as the seven ancient wonders of the world. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Statue of Zeus, the Temple of Artemis, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon." Annabeth knew of the wonders; as an aspiring architect she had studied these ancient monuments.
"You need to restore the citadels before it is too late." Before Annabeth could argue Leo burst through the door with Jason in tow.
"We're coming too!" exclaimed the son of Hephaestus.
The next morning Annabeth stood at the gate of Camp Half-Blood, prepared to step out into the world again. Behind her were Leo, Jason and Tyson the Cyclops following. At the docks lay a seaplane built by the Hephaestus cabin, which Leo had helpfully christened Argo III, waiting for the group. Annabeth walked towards the plane, ready for a new adventure.
