Hello my dear readers once again, I am back with another chapter of this story and I hope you enjoy it. I am thinking this is the last kind of resting chapter before what is going to be a stretch of action oriented chapters as they run through the motions to get back the master bolt. If things have been moving a bit slow for you until now, sorry bout that. I think I'm a bit better writing character interaction so I fall into it more often then not.
StarOfOlympus:I mean, Percy was literally right there so there wasnt that much danger.
BlackjaxCXXIII:Well, glad to see you are. Cause it might be a pretty darn long haul.
The best thing about passing out from asphyxiation, no dreams, so my body was just able to rest for a while as my consciousness was nothing but avoid... Maybe that was why when the sudden feeling of someone rhythmically pressing onto my chest and the sudden swelling of water in my chest before a violent cough expelled it. My eyes jerked open, looking up to see Grover's kind brown regards looking into mine with worry as I coughed out more water.
"Percy! It's working. Keep trying to pull it out! We almost have her back!" Grover's voice was unlike I had ever heard from him before. It was calm, determined, and resolute. It was impressive, considering how quickly I felt the water being pulled from within me again, and I coughed the rest of it up.
"I, I think I'm fine." As I spoke, I felt pain in my throat, violently coughing again while my lungs tried to expel as much liquid from my body as possible. "What...What happened with the recording? Did it go well?" Percy smiled at me before pointing upwards.
"Well, it seems that against all odds, we haven't lost one of our questing members! So, I hope this was entertaining for you all, and we hope for you to tune in next time! Good Night!" With that, he gave a mock salute before the camera closed up and started to fly away, and he sat down next to me.
"Hmm, I think having a near-death after we thought we were in the clear will create plenty of drama to get eyes on us. We can only hope that's good enough to get us to California because I honestly don't have any idea on how else we can do it." Percy sighed. I kept my position next to him. Closing my eyes as I hummed to myself.
"Maybe you can tame some horses, and we can ride them for a few days, bareback." Percy gave me an odd lock at the suggestion.
"Why would I be the one to tame horses? Grover's the one who can speak to them, I've never even had a dog, much less something big as a horse!"
"Horses aren't good conversationalists either, always talking about the strange food they want to eat and how much their legs hurt. They are pretty loyal though I'll say that." I chuckled at Grover's input, cringing a bit as it made a bit of pain shoot through my chest.
"Percy, remember our lessons. What is the connection between you and horses?"
"Well, I presume it has something to do with my dad...He created horses, right? They are also his sacred animal, so I guess they might be kinder to me than others? I mean, we could try it, I've never ridden before, but hey, maybe it's another one of my super...powers..." Percy yawned a little after speaking and looking at him again, it was easy to see he was exhausted, sagging shoulders and eyes always being half-lidded.
"Right, now you go to sleep Percy. You must have used a lot of power today with steering us, Grover, and I can keep watch, we promise." Percy shook his head, lurching forward a bit as he did so.
"I...I can't. It's not even afternoon! I can't just do that when we're on a time c-crunch." I shook my head and got up with a grunt. My chest still ached. But this was more important.
"Percy, we just went through that entire trial, so we can get through the time crunch better and as much as I'd hate to admit it. You are the strongest of us three in pure power, so being tired and weak makes things a lot more dangerous. Right, Grover?" The goat boy was currently blowing water from his reed pipes.
"What? Oh, yeah, Perce, you can go to sleep. Annabeth and I can make sure nothing is coming to kill us. We'll wake you up so you can die with us." Percy looked like he was about to protest again when Grover started to play a soft tune, a gentle, melodic lullaby that was even making my eyes droop a bit. Though, as Percy dropped like a rock, I managed to stay awake, drool already starting to leak out from his mouth.
Giggling a little at sight, I dragged Percy over to the river with Grover, the stream leading off to a pretty shallow pool that we dipped our friend into so he could heal what injuries he had while he slept.
"So, do you really think we did well enough? I mean, having a kid almost die something that happens daily when it comes to greek gods. Why would this be any different?" Grover spoke somberly, his eyes doubtful as he looked into the water."
"Well, there are a few reasons. First off, the stakes for us surviving this is much higher than most quests. Secondly, they would be watching a goddess die if we failed, which is something that should be understandably rare."
"So Percy and I are just admired because of what we're doing? Well, good to know that I'm not drawing any particular god's attention." He sighed, leaning forward.
"Are you kidding? The first son of Poseidon in over sixty years and a Satyr brave enough to go on a quest to the underworld! That is going to draw many, many eyes upon us. If only because we are interesting as a trio."
"I guess we don't really fit in with our normal people, huh? You're loathed by Athena, I'm the one who failed to bring two big three kids into cap safely, and Percy...Well, he's all alone when it comes to demigod siblings."
"Well, that just means we'll have to stick together as a trio of misfits then, eh? And Grover, you know, none of what happened with Thalia or Percy. It wasn't your fault, any of it."
"But it was! I was the one who led us astray in Brooklyn when I tried to take Thalia, Malcolm, and Luke to camp! I'm the one who got us lost in the Cyclops's maze! I'm the one who lost Percy in the middle of New York and who wasn't able to lead them back to camp before the Minotaur caught us...Even Sally's death was my fault." So that was the name of Percy's mom? It was strange to hear it for the first time this way, I supposed.
"Well, that's a load of pegasus dung, and you know it. It wasn't your fault that Hades sent all his little minions after Thalia or Percy, it wasn't your fault that a hurricane was going on to stop you from driving fast as you could. It wasn't your fault that Percy ran away from you, and I'm betting it was him who slipped away."
"But-"
"And you still managed to get Two half-bloods to safety at the same time, when Thalia died...She was in full control of her actions. She knew that as long as she was alive. Hades would just keep sending horde after horde of monsters after her...So instead, she chose to die by her terms, protecting her family with everything she had."
"Well, her family plus me. Though I guess you could say I'm the runt." I let out a little growl.
"Grover, stop it. Just...If what happened with Thalia is really weighing that harshly on your mind, then think of this, she gave her life so you could live yours. Wouldn't it be an insult to her memory if you spent the rest of it wallowing in self-pity?"
"Maybe...But you wouldn't get it, you've never absolutely let someone down like that before. You don't know what it feels like to lose someone like that when you were so close to being safe and home free."
"Well, if that's a part of the human experience I chose when I became this, then I guess I'm eventually going to feel that as well. Still, because you are so wracked with guilt, can you at least promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
I hummed, looking forward at Percy floating in the pool of water, gently bobbing up and down as his body weight shifted. The boy had a frown on his face, or was that his natural scowl? "As long as Percy is alive, you won't give up protecting him? I've barely known him for a month, and I can already tell he's gonna be getting in a lot more trouble than now."
"Annabeth, you know I can't promise that I'm gonna be getting my searcher's license and going out to find Pan."
"You could always not do that, you know..."
"Annabeth, please, don't bring it up now. I know you don't want me to go you there and die on a fruitless mission, but...It's our only hope as Satyrs that Pan can come back and fix things."
"Why do you need him to fix it? Why can't you go out yourselves and put all the effort you waste on searching for Pan into actually protecting and expanding his realm?"
"Because we aren't strong enough to do that. Look at me, I was barely able to keep the raft from blowing up during the ride, and even that nearly ended in disaster."
"Your magic and efforts saved our lives, Grover. You're the reason me and Percy aren't bloody smears on those rocks, tainting the white water pink. Anyways, I want you to promise me you will always be looking after Percy as long as he needs you."
"Annabeth, like I said, I can't do that."
"Yes, you can. I want you to, so that...So that you always have a purpose and a reason to carry on. Instead of your only motivator being ', I have to find Pan.' have it be 'I have to get back to Percy.' 'Percy needs me, Annabeth needs me. I can't die here.' Think you can do that for me?"
"I guess...Yeah, that doesn't sound too hard. I promise that as long as you need me, I will be there to help you out. Us...Us misfits have to stick together, don't we?"
"Yeah." I smiled, feeling a new warmth in my chest as Grover and I sat in silence then, watching over the boy we were both tasked to protect from anything and letting the comfortable blanket of friendship keep our spirits warm.
The sun rose up the next day, and I grunted some. The little rest that I had managed to get had kept me awake through the night, but it weighed down on my mind. I didn't want another dream, though, so no sleep for me! At least not out here in the open. Percy kept mumbling in his sleep, something about getting away from someone, it was creepy, and I didn't want to know what he was running away from...Probably because we were running right towards something else.
Hearing a familiar propeller, I grinned, looking up to see the helicopter lowering itself down towards us, screen coming to life to show off Hephestus, a sly grin gracing his scarred and marred face.
"So, it seems you whelps managed to survive after all. Got pretty good ratings too! Every one on Olympus was watching you all. That near-death at the end was a real boost, great for dramatic tension. Y'all are natural performers! Anyways, as promised, you will get three choices of transportation. The first one will get you the farthest but will be the roughest on you. The second is middling, but it will be a nice place to rest for you lot, and the third will drop you off soonest but will be very luxurious. Which is your choice?" I looked to Grover, who seemed about to nod off, his nose still twitching as he tried to detect anything and everything dangerous in the area. Percy as just now waking up from his nap, his eyes half-lidded, which was with the water boost!
"I think I think we will go with option two. We need rest, but...I don't even know how many days we have left, but we can't afford to dilly dally for even a second."
"Aye, you can't. You only have five days left until the solstice. I think I can get you from here to California, but only if we stretch things out. Otherwise, I will be breaking a few ancient laws. But you're right, you need rest. An eight hour rest period for every twenty-four hours working minimum! Honestly, you mortals are so horribly designed I can't believe Prometheus is proud of you."
"Prometheus...He really made humans out of clay? But then...What about the fossil record?" Percy spoke up, still clearly a little sleepy as he stepped out of the water and lurched forward, nearly falling flat onto his face. Luckily I could catch him before that happened.
"Haven't you heard of prototypes, son? That's all your fossil record is the building blocks to what you are now. Taking millions of years to make such small changes, such an inefficient system. If only Prometheus let me design things, you would be much better off now!" The blacksmith let out an exasperated sigh while shaking his head, walking over to his workbench, where a ton of messy blueprints muttering as he started to draw it up.
"With all due respect, lord Hephestus, but can you work on your...Upgrades of mortals later on? We really need to get going." I gulped, and the Blacksmith God looked back at me with an evil look in his eye, like I had just spit in his soup in front of him.
"Impatient, aren't you? These things take time, give me a few hours, and I should have it up and running for you lot and converging on your location. The ride will include sleeping accommodations, enchantments to protect you from monsters, and refreshments. I'll get back to you when it is done." He then waved his hand, and the screen went black before the copter started to lift off, leaving us alone once again for hours.
"Well...Grover, you can take that nap! Percy and I are gonna round up vegetables, anything you want in particular?"
"If you can find wax paper or something similar, give it to me...I would like to clean up the place while eating other than that, would some fruit be possible?"
"If we can find any sure! That sounds really good, actually." I gave him a thumbs-up before yawning and starting my way off, grabbing Percy's hand, dragging him along despite his groans of protest to try and scavenge for any fruits.
"Why are you bringing me along? You're the one with a god of the wild as your dad. You should be really good at this stuff."
"I need someone to watch my back, and you, like I said yesterday, are the strongest of us. We have the river right beside us. You could probably just drown any monster that tried to attack us now."
"About that, I don't think I'll be using any powers for a while. I still feel really wiped from yesterday, and if I try to do something like that, I'd probably pass out on the spot." He yawned again. Eyes still drooping a little bit as he tried to manage a smile at me.
"Well, you still have a better weapon than I do. You can still cover my back." I bent to the ground, my eyes scanning the environment for any sort of foliage that could count as fruit, and I spotted it! A few plump, purple plums growing off to the side of the river. Those would work just fine.
"Watch your back, yeah, I can do that. I can do that just...Fine."
Gods, how tired did yesterday make him? I ran to grab the fruits and turned back to see him swaying a bit, eyes still darting all around, alert as he possibly could be in his state it looked like. Shaking my head, I came over and offered Percy a plum, the deep purple skin nearly a shade of blue.
"Hey, Perce got some blue food for ya. That'll probably please your stomach, right?" Looking at the fruit, Percy's eyes widened, and he nodded, grabbing the fruit and biting right in, letting the juicy fruit leak all over his face as he ate it.
"T=thanks, I think eating something will do me good. For now, though, you keep searching for fruits. We have nothing else to do for the day after all.
"Percy, how much energy did you use yesterday? You seem dead on your feet, and that's after spending the night in a pool of water!" Percy shrugged. Despite his apparent exhaustion, he seemed to maintain that smirk he always did.
"I don't..Know? I'm fine, though. Trust me, I won't be passing out on you, not while we are still in enemy territory." His smirk faltered a bit as his eyes snapped closed for a moment before he jolted awake with a gasp. I looked down at the fruits we had, it wasn't much but...They would have to do.
"No, you aren't because we are going back to Grover right now. Don't try to lie to me and say you can last much longer, I never should have brought you along like this." My stomach grumbled in protest, I had barely gathered enough plums to make a jam, but they would have to do. I wasn't going to have Percy in more danger than needed.
"Yes, I can handle it, I can handle it super fine t-trust...Trust me." Was he posturing for me? Trying to seem more macho or something? No, that didn't seem like Percy. "You won't have to. Worry about anything when I'm here, right? I gotta be the strong one of the quest."
Now that, that sounded like Percy. Putting himself at great risk for his friend, letting out a groan, I shook my head and started to walk my way back to camp. My friend following closely behind, yawning and lurching forward the whole time but somehow managing to stay awake through it all. Long enough for me to arrive at the camp and toss the plums over to Grover.
The next few hours were pretty cruddy. Turns out staying awake for a whole night after nearly drowning was something very taxing on the mortal body, especially when you didn't have enough to eat the very next day. Still, I managed to keep my eyes open just long enough to see a golden limousine approaching from the sky, driven by an automaton—parking in front of us and rolling the window down. The robot looked at me with creepily soulful eyes.
"Percy Jackson's questing party?" I nodded groggily, grunting at Grover as we dragged Percy's sleeping body into the open limousine doors, the back of the car stuffed with minifridges that would deliver any non-alcoholic drink, cabinets bursting with junk food, treats, and fruit. The best part, though, was the plush-mattress seats that lined the walls. Nodding at the Satyr, we put the Son of Poseidon on his own bed before falling onto our own respective mattresses.
"Alright, the trip should take around twenty hours for us to complete. Bathrooms are in the very back, and all the food and drink has been paid forward by your contract. Your dreams should also be protected from any outside influence. Next Stop, California."
Twenty hours? Hephestus should have been able to make something that could've gotten us there in half the time! We didn't have the day to spare! But, looking at the passed out Percy and barely awake Grover, as well as the ache in my own muscles, I knew I shouldn't complain. We needed the rest to really rest and recover, and this would very likely be our last respite until the quest was over.
"Alright, t-thank you, sir." And with that, I fell against my plush mattress seating and passed out, my body shutting down all functions to start recovering from all the crap I had put it through in the past week or so. The lack of dreams was a familiar sensation and a comforting one at that.