Sally's P.O.V
The break seemed to do some good for everyone. Percy and Annabeth seemed much more relaxed and willing to converse with others and I was glad to see it and be a part of it. It had been nice to talk about them going back to school and well normal things in comparison to the other half of their lives. It made me feel much more hopeful, that when I plucked up the courage to tell them the news that Percy would take it as well as we hoped. We'd planned to tell them when they came home but they were so broken, I just couldn't do it. Three weeks have past and it hasn't got any better for them, though it's looking like that might now be starting to change. If this worked out really helping them, maybe we could tell them when we got home.
Percy's P.O.V
We settled back down for the reading. Annabeth and I had decided to sit with our parents for this chapter; we sat in the middle, mom next to me and Paul next to her, Annabeth next to me and her dad with Helen on the end.
Chapter 12 – Annabeth
Annabeth literally stumbled over the second Titan...
... Relying on the light of Percy's...blade...
...Annabeth could see about five feet in front of her...
"That's not exactly reassuring" Annabeth father noted quietly and took her hand, Annabeth squeezed it. I had my arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently to show support but not enough to pull her away from her dad. She smiled at me appreciatively and I smiled back.
...Here in Tartarus, the fog was ink. Rocks loomed out of nowhere. Pits appeared at their feet...
... All she could be certain of was that the terrain was still slopping down...
...the only direction allowed in Tartarus...
"Cheery thoughts Annie" Thalia teased from across the room, Annabeth just rolled her eyes at her. I couldn't help thinking that she wasn't wrong it had been like that like Tartarus himself had been trying to influence where we were going.
... Annabeth had a very nasty feeling that they were travelling down his throat...
Piper, who normally has quite a strong stomach, threw up; as did Leo and so did my mom. Buckets appeared to catch the fluids before they hit the floor, and everyone else looked very green. Apollo made the rounds with Will, chanting a prayer to remove the nausea from everyone.
...Percy yelled, "Whoa!" He grabbed for her arm, but she was already falling...
... She had a soft landing...
...and was feeling lucky – until she... found herself staring... at another much larger face...
Hyperion, I thought, this is when we crossed paths with him reforming. Gods, I hated that guy. I had trusted Bob to decide what to do more out of desperation than anything else.
...Her heart did a hundred jumping jacks...
... "you okay?"...
...She didn't trust herself to answer...
...she might scream again and that was undignified...
...she was a daughter of Athena, not some shrill girlie victim...
Laughter erupted around the throne room as they heard Annabeth's thoughts, even Annabeth laughed.
"Gods, Wise Girl, you are stubborn aren't you" I whispered to her.
"Fatal flaw" She whispered back and I knew that was true she'd always prided herself on being her mother's daughter.
I looked up at Athena and I could see pride showing on her face and love, even after being thrown into the depths of hell, she still was proud to be her daughter and I could see that she was proud of that. I had a feeling that it made everything we'd discussed in the break with her more believable to her.
'Thank you Percy' Athena's voice sounded in my mind, I looked up and nodded slightly to her to show I had heard her. All I wanted was for Annabeth to be happy, it's all I had ever wanted and I think Athena was starting to accept me, at least I hoped she was.
... But Gods of Olympus curled in the membrane bubble...
...was a fully formed Titan in golden armour...
I could feel the tension in the room rise as some had figured out who the titan was.
... "Hyperion," Percy said "I hate that guy."...
... Percy had fought this Titan...
...it had been the first time Percy had summoned a hurricane – which wasn't something Annabeth would ever forget...
"Aww" Aphrodite cooed, and I saw a lot of the demigods roll their eyes at this.
"When did you fight Hyperion?" Jason asked me.
"During the battle of Manhattan, Grover and the satyrs turned him into a tree, what kind was it again Wise Girl?" I asked Annabeth.
"A Maple tree" she replied.
Thalia's P.O.V
How in the name of the Gods had these two survived down there? To meet not one, but two Titans? I know Percy's unlucky but seriously?! Two Titans?!
I could feel my heart racing with worry for the two people I probably cared most about in the world, knowing that this had already happened for them didn't make it any better either, I was hearing about this for the first time and I felt like I was going to have a panic attack never mind Percy and Annabeth or even Nico who himself said he only took about two steps before he was captured, though I thought maybe he even he was playing that down a little, or maybe it was just that bad for a child of Hades down there? Gods I'm getting a headache just trying to relate to it all. As if sensing my inner turmoil, Lady Artemis spoke to me in my mind.
'I understand your distress young lieutenant, take a few deep breaths and remember they are here, they made it out alive.' She told me, more and more I understood the mantra 'we made it out, we're alive and we're together.'
'Thank you, milady I will try' I replied and she nodded to me to show she had heard me and I took a couple of deep calming breaths and repeated Percy and Annabeth's mantra in my head as I continued to listen to the reading.
...she was about to suggest they burst Hyperion's bubble before he woke up...
...Then she glanced at Bob...
...Their faces looked so much alike...
...of course they looked a like. Hyperion was his brother...
Oh Gods! Oh Gods! Okay Thalia breath, say the mantra, they made it out, they're alive, calm down. I looked over at my friends and they seemed calm between their parents maybe this chapter wasn't too bad. I took another deep breath and listened.
... Titan lord of the east...
...Bob, was lord of the west...
... "Bob" She said "We should go."...
... "Bob"... "Hey buddy, over here." ...
... "You know that some monsters are good"... "And some are bad."...
"Percy!" The room groaned.
"What?" He asked and looked to Annabeth who whispered something to him and he looked a little shocked, before he collected himself, whispered something back and kissed her forehead. Annabeth's father smiled at him and so did Sally. I thought perhaps Annabeth had told him that she agreed with the rest of us and that he hadn't known, but he forgave her for doubting him. Because that's what they always did, they forgave each other.
... "Well the same is true for Titans."...
... Annabeth was pretty sure her boyfriend had made a big mistake...
"I'm sorry, I didn't understand" Annabeth said to him, he smiled at her and replied.
"It's ok, I'm sorry too" He said and I looked around the room and I could see that I wasn't the only one that was confused at their interaction. I decided I would ask them privately, when I could.
... "Bob the Titan. You're good...This guy here, Hyperion is full-on bad"...
... "He looks like you" Percy agreed. "He's a Titan, like you. But he's not good like you are."...
"Did you really expect him to understand that Prissy?!" Clarisse asked and I could hear the panic and the anger that stemmed from that fear.
"I didn't know what else to do Clarisse okay?!" Percy responded his voice breaking "I had to try and get Bob to see our side because if he took Hyperion's, well we wouldn't be sitting here. I'll confess it was a hail-Mary and that it was stupid..." he grumbled out the last part so that only Annabeth and their parents could hear him and Annabeth immediately started to try and sooth him, was he being influenced by the pit? Could Tartarus do that?
Clarisse seemed to accept that at least he knew his actions were stupid but I don't think that was everything, I got the feeling that Percy was scared out of his mind down there at this point and his only thought was to keep Annabeth safe and to do that he'd do anything, I knew that, heck we all did.
...Annabeth sensed they'd been in this place too long...
... "We should go," She urged...
"Listen to her!" Reyna, Rachel, Calypso, Will and Malcolm shouted and then looked at me when I didn't also say it.
"What? You all know the only two people in the world Percy listens to are his mom and Annabeth, you really think he won't?" I asked they shrugged and nodded settling back down to listen.
... "Bob," Percy said, "it's your call."...
... Bob Slashed through the monstrous blister...
...Annabeth wiped the Titan sludge out of her eyes...
Sally threw up again and I frowned she was normally a lot better at hearing about Percy's quests and being covered in sludge was not anywhere near as bad as even his watered down versions that he had actually told her in the past. Something else was going on with Sally; something else was causing her sickness. My eyes went wide realisation dawning on me. Not something, someone.
'Yes, you've figure it out, she is, but Percy doesn't know so keep it to yourself.' Lady Artemis told me, being the goddess of childbirth I suspect she'd known since we arrived that Sally was pregnant, I wondered how far along she was, Gods, Percy was going to be a big brother. I prayed harder than ever that this reading would help them process their time down there.
'I will milady, is there anything you can do to ease the nausea?' I asked.
'I have offered as have Apollo and Will, Sally has politely declined us all.' I nodded my understanding that was so much like Sally not wanting help, wanting to live her life for it to have meaning; I respected her so much for that.
... "Hyperion is a bad Titan."...
... "Now he can't hurt my friends"...
... "Thank you Bob," Percy said...
"You thanked him?!" Clarisse asked and this time there was concern, if Percy could manipulate like Luke had we were all in trouble and I now more than ever I knew the pit was influencing him, Percy would never do that.
"Clarisse, the pit is influencing him, can't you tell?" I asked trying not to accuse or sound harsh but to just state. Percy looked at me with sadness in his eyes and was that shame? Stupid Kelp Head, I got up and went over to him, ignoring everyone else in the room.
"Don't look at me like that Kelp Head, don't be ashamed, you went through the worst place imaginable, I can't say I'd have been able to do the same. You survived our family is still together." I said and sat at his feet not letting him move me this time, but before I sat down Annabeth mouthed a 'thank you' to me. Clarisse sat back on her chair and nodded to me, she understood too.
...The way he talked to Bob left Annabeth awestruck...
...She didn't like how much he trusted the Titan. If he was manipulating Bob...
...well, then, Annabeth didn't know Percy could be so calculating...
...she couldn't his expression. That bothered her too...
"I'm sorry, I should have known we were being affected by him." I heard Annabeth whisper.
"I'm sorry too, I didn't realise either, I'm sorry you had reason to doubt me" He replied.
"I'm sorry" She said back to him. Percy's legs twisted behind my back and I knew without having to look that he had turned to kiss Annabeth just another way they told each other they were forgiven. Despite the tense atmosphere, I found myself smiling, I knew they would make it through this and I knew when they found out what I knew they'd be so happy for Sally and Paul as I was.
... "We'd better get going," he said. She and Percy followed Bob, the golden mud-flecks... glowing on his janitors uniform.
The end of the chapter brought many thoughts to me. One; if Percy and Annabeth were being influenced by the pit how did they fight it off? Two; they had fought the influence of the pit and made it out and three; they were stronger than any of us and for someone whose fatal flaw was power it was something for me to be able to admit that. Percy had helped me overcome my fatal flaw in the past and the hunt and Lady Artemis helped me every day but if I was down there would I have had the strength to do the same? I hoped I would, but I wasn't too sure, I knew alone I definitely couldn't have and my forth thought occurred to me and it wasn't a new one, but I was so glad they had been together down there, because together they could survive anything.
~Author's Note~
Hey all thanks for reading this chapter and I really hoped you enjoyed it! Apologies for the delay, I'm updating when I can, but the time I had when I started this story has been decreased due to work, so please bare with me, I love that you wait for the updates and I will continue to update so please do bare with me. Let me know what you thought!
Nothing Could Go Wrong – Thank you for your review, in my opinion the only way to deal with your fears is to face them head on, I've had a lot of experience (although not to Percy and Annabeth's standards certainly) with that recently in light of COVID and lockdown etc. I believe that they are trying to help them in the only way they know how. Hopefully that makes sense. I think Athena with love is a little awkward it's not her domain and the love she feels is intellectual and I genuinely believe she doesn't understand the love her daughter feels as she's never experienced it. Anyway I hope that explains a little behind my thought process and that you are enjoying the story and that you continue to read. Happy reading.
Jgaskins – Thank you for your review, as always I do love that you're continuing with the story and that you are enjoying, I hope the same can be said for this chapter, please let me know if there is a specific POV you'd like and I'll try and put it in the next chapter! Happy Reading.
Most Bodacious – Thank you for your review and we certainly are - I'm really tempted to do Calypso's POV for the part of the curses especially the one she inflicted what do you think? Happy reading.
IceFire99 – Thank you for your review as always, glad you're still reading and enjoying, I hope the same is true for this one. Happy Reading.
CaptainMcShizzle – Thank you for your review as always! I'm glad you like the humour –although that's perhaps lacking in this recent chapter I'll try and add it back in, in the next one! I'm also glad you like the thoughts/prayer conversations with the Gods. You'll notice Franks POV didn't appear here but that's only because I had an idea of how I wanted this one to go, Franks POV will be in the next one I promise I've made a note for so I can't forget! Thank you for sitting with my story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Happy Reading.
ChrisKidd2001 – Thank you for your review as always! I'm glad you loved the last chapter and I hope you loved this one too! If there is a POV you'd like to see please let me know, happy reading!
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Bookaholic4ever – Thanks for your review as always! I'm glad you enjoyed and are looking forward to the poisoning chapter I am too I'm considering Zeus's POV for that one as he finds out just how powerful Percy would be perhaps? What do you think? Is there a POV you'd like to see? Thank you for your question, if you have any more please DM me I always like discussions with my readers, my favourite ship is Percabeth but I do also really like Solangelo and believe they balance each other really well one being light and one being shadow. What's your favourite ship? Happy reading!
James Birdsong – Thank you for your review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Happy reading!
Guest 10-04 – Thank you for your review! I'm sorry I can't update as quickly as you'd like but I'm glad you want an update as quickly as that, it lets me know you want more! Happy reading!
– Thank you for your review as always! Thank you as always for your kind words! I hope you enjoy this chapter, is there a POV you'd like to see? Happy reading!
Guest 10-06 – Thank you for your review, I'm glad you enjoyed and that you liked Percy and Annabeth's silent conversations, happy reading!
Happy Reading all!