Chapter 25 - I Clean Up Percy's Underwear

The rest of my time with my family was uneventful. I opened the Christmas gifts they had gotten me, we toured a couple more museums, I excused myself to the bathroom every time I had to deal with a monster - just, normal Annabeth stuff. My dad and I watched some cheesy romantic movies in the evenings - I had found out he was actually kinda sappy - and I tried not to think about Percy during each film. It was hard, being in California, so close to him, and not being able to find him. I looked at every teenager with dark hair, just to make sure it wasn't him. No such luck.

During the day I'd play with my brothers, trying to give them as many good memories of me as I could, in case I never came back. I avoided my stepmom whenever I could and tried not to meet her eyes. She may have thought it was because I didn't want to accept what she had said, but in reality, I wasn't sure I could control myself from screaming at her.

My dad and I went out a few more times for milkshakes and to talk more about the godly side of my life. I didn't tell him everything - I wasn't ready to yet. But I decided to start with Percy's appearance and our quest for the Master Bolt. I had told my family bits and pieces, but never the whole tale. Then I explained some of our quest in the Sea of Monsters. My dad found it endlessly hilarious that Percy had been turned into a guinea pig. For this trip, that was plenty. Each night before bed I'd sit down and write in my journal. I always started out trying to write a record of what I did and where I covered, but I often ended by writing all the terrible things I wanted to do to Hera when I saw her again. None of them would actually happen, of course, but I needed somewhere to get my anger out and my journal was better than my stepmom.

The day after New Year's Day found my dad and I in the airport. This trip was ending, and for the first time, I was a bit sad about it. Partly because I wanted to stay and keep looking for Percy. But partly because I actually enjoyed my time with my family.

"You'll call us when you land?"

I shook my head. "Don't want to attract monsters to such a populated area. Maybe from Camp."

My dad nodded. "I'm sorry you didn't find Percy. But I hope you still had a good time with us."

I noticed hope in his eyes when he said that. I smiled at him. "I did. Yeah. This was one of the best trips." I had never mentioned what my stepmom had said. I wanted to ignore it, forget about it, but it kept poking me, like an annoying bug that won't leave.

His eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. "I'm glad. You'll be back - when?"

"I…. I don't know. Maybe for spring break if I hear any news about where Percy is. But if not I'll probably need to spend that time working on the boat. And summer…." I trailed off. Summer I was going to head out to find Percy and start another war.

My dad pulled me into a hug. "Do what you must. I love you, Annabeth."

Tears stung my eyes. "I love you too, Dad."

We pulled away from each other and looked at each other for a long while. I tried not to think that this was the last time I'd ever see him. A lot can happen to a demigod in six months.

"I hope you know I'm proud of you." He said quietly. "I may not understand all of this, but I do know one thing. And that's that you are a hero, Annabeth. I'm so proud of the lady you have become."

I tried not to cry. I wasn't sure my dad had ever said he was proud of me. I couldn't remember a time that he had. I pulled him in for one last hug. They were feeling more comfortable by now. Then we parted and I walked away to board the plane. I waved to him until I couldn't see him anymore.

I found Argus waiting for me outside the baggage claim. He looked at me curiously.

"It was a good trip, but no Percy."

He nodded, his shoulders slumping. Despite not being able to talk, Argus is actually pretty fond of us demigods. He doesn't like it when one of us goes missing or is killed. Argus took my suitcase and backpack and loaded them into the trunk. I sat in the passenger seat, ready to go back to camp.

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

Argus shrugged. I took that to mean Yes, but nothing we couldn't handle.

"The boat coming along ok?"

Argus gave a small nod and a sigh.

"Got it. There've been some problems, but considering we've never built a boat, much less a giant flying one, it's going well."

He gave me a smile and started the van.

I only had a few days at Camp before school started back up. I helped Leo as much as I could, doing research on Daedaelus's laptop for everything from what we needed to fuel the ship to how to craft the sails so they'd catch the wind. I still wasn't a ton of good in the actual building of the ship - my bad arm was still too weak to do any heavy lifting. But I could at least help him research and design the ship. I assured Leo I'd be back most weekends to help with the ship. He didn't seem super enthused about the prospect, but he and I both knew he needed every bit of help he could get.

The days passed in a blur. Suddenly, it was time to head back into NYC and head to school. Rachel and I were both in the van driven by Argus. She would spend the day with her family, then head off to Clarion Ladies Academy in the morning. I was heading back to my boarding school. It was good to spend some time with her, at least on the ride into the city.

Rachel let out a sigh and I felt bad for my friend. She didn't like her school, and she didn't have a lot of friends there. Her friends, her true friends, were back at Camp, same as me.

"I brought a whole bag of drachmas." I told her. "We can call whenever you want."

She smiled at me, gratefully. "Thanks. I'd like that."

We talked about the coming war, Percy's disappearance, the Argo II. It was nice to have someone I could talk to so easily.

I got to my dorm and started unpacking. I didn't have a roommate, which was good. No need to explain the weapons I hid everywhere. I had taken some extra from camp, just to be safe. There was a sword, shield, and crossbow in my closet, a javelin under the bed, and a couple extra daggers in the dresser. I stuck my Yankees cap into the drawer of my nightstand for easy reach. Then I unpacked the normal mortal things - textbooks, notebooks, pencils, clothes. I also popped a first aid kit into the closet - with me, there was a solid chance I'd need that. I flopped down on my bed. My arm was feeling a lot better and I knew I would be able to physically handle all my work. That wasn't my problem. My main issue was Percy's disappearance. I had gotten word from Tyson, Grover and Thalia that none of them had seen him. I hadn't been able to reach Nico, but I wasn't concerned. Nico sometimes dropped off the map and never told anybody why but he always came back. He was a skilled fighter, and I knew he'd be able to take care of himself.

I didn't know how I'd make it through an entire semester with no word of him. No news, no new memories, nothing that I could do to even help him. I ground my teeth in frustration. I heard laughter in the hall outside my door.

My classmates, doubtless, were enjoying meeting up after the winter break and catching up on all their holiday adventures. I'd have to go out there in a few minutes and try to make small talk. It was hard for me to make mortal friends. For one thing, I always had a chance that they were monsters in disguise. It's kind of hard to make friends with someone when in the back of your mind you are thinking that you might need to stab them and send them to Tartarus. Also, I had basically lived at camp from the time I was seven until I was a teen. I didn't really "get" how to talk about normal teen girl stuff. Which actor is the hottest? I don't know - camp doesn't really get many movies. I tended to try to stick to things like schoolwork, something we could all understand. It was hard to care about what the Kardashians were doing lately when you're trying to save New York from an evil Titan overlord.

I sighed. The hardest part was that I really couldn't tell them about my life either. I needed to come up with a story about what I did over winter break. I couldn't tell them "Oh, just saved some teens from monster attacks, my boyfriend got kidnapped and I nearly got killed by a scorpion the size of a pick-up truck. How about you?" Yeah. Normal girl stuff.

I thought about it. I could tell them about the museums in San Francisco and spending time with my family in California. That could work. It was true, after all. I decided I would try not to mention Percy. I didn't want to explain why there weren't police reports about the disappearance. I picked a nice sweater out of my closet and put it on. Then, I braced myself for a different kind of battle and walked into the hall.

The week went by slowly. I spent my time in each class trying to focus on the subject. Chemistry, geography, literature, math…. My classes were challenging but the teachers seemed to care. And I was almost certain none of them were monsters. I also got to take a 3-D design class this semester, which I was loving. It was great to learn more about design and how to make models on a computer. I couldn't wait to use the technology in my designs for Olympus. Most evenings I'd Iris message Rachel, even if it was just for a minute to check in. I think she needed it more than I did at this point. But it was nice to be able to repay some of her kindness. I'd let her rant about all the preppy girls at the school. Honestly, I would have rather been in war than at Clarion, and Rachel had my full sympathy.

Finally, Friday afternoon arrived. Some of my classmates invited me to go shopping with them but I made a polite excuse. I got far enough away from school that I didn't think anyone would notice, then whistled as loudly as I could. Within a couple minutes, a dark pegasus arrived in front of me.

"Hey Blackjack!" I greeted him. "Thanks for giving me a lift."

He whinnied at me. I didn't know what he was saying but I handed him an apple. He seemed to appreciate it, even if it wasn't donuts. Within a few moments we were soaring into the sky, heading to camp. We touched down right outside Bunker 9. I walked inside.

"Leo?" I called out. The door was open, so I knew he was there.

"Hey!" I heard a voice from the back. "Who's there? I need a hand over here!"

I walked quickly to where the voice was coming from. I found Leo wedged under some machine part.

"Uh, I'm guessing you didn't mean to drop this on yourself?"

I heard a grunt. "Technically, I didn't drop it. I was crawling under it and I thought I was a bit smaller than I am. Clearly I'm getting too macho for this job. Anyway, I'm wedged in here. Can you help?"

I tried not to grin. Then I grabbed Leo's legs and pulled him out.

"Thanks. Uh, how's your shoulder?"

I hadn't noticed I was rubbing it automatically after I had used it to pull him out. "It's fine." I put my hands down. "Just a little sore still, I guess. I can use it fine, though."

He nodded. "Good, because I need some help on the engine."

I looked him up and down. "And you're really cool with me helping?" I asked him suspiciously.

He grinned at me. "Hey, I figure that so long as I'm your only shot to get Percy, you'll let me live. After that, well, I better keep a set of eyes behind me."

I grinned back at him. "Sounds like a plan. What do you need me to do?"

I spent the evening with Leo and together we made some solid progress on the engine. At night I fell into my bunk at Cabin Six, ready for a good night's sleep.

In the morning, I led my three remaining siblings to breakfast. Only Maya and two others stayed during the year. Malcolm had headed home for the spring semester. I was tackled by Piper, and nearly threw her over my shoulder by habit. Thankfully, I realized a moment before I threw her who it was and pulled her into a hug instead.

"Piper!" I scolded her when we pulled away. "I could've thrown you."

"But you didn't." She challenged me with a laugh. Then her face grew serious. "Can we talk? After breakfast."

I nodded and went to my table. It was nice to sit there, even if it was a little empty with most of my siblings gone. As I scraped some of the bacon (yum!) into the brazier I sent a prayer to my mom for each of my siblings' safe return. It was hard to be head counselor. So many times I had had to give speeches at funerals for my siblings. I didn't want to do that again. I remembered the first, shortly before Percy had arrived, when I had to give my first eulogy as head counselor. Our last counselor had been killed during the spring semester by a cyclops. I was so young, but I had the most experience at camp. I was elected head counselor and put in charge of about ten others when I was only twelve. Most of those original ten were gone. Some were lucky - they were in the mortal world, going to college, having a life. But they didn't stay in touch. It was hard, we couldn't exactly call each other up. The others… well, I didn't like to think about what happened to the others. There were more in the cabin now. Maya, Malcolm…. I didn't want to lose any of them.

I shook my head and realized my food was getting cold. I ate quickly and sent my siblings to go with Leo. They would all be helping on the ship today. I walked over to Piper and sat down. I snatched the last of her donut out of her hand and ate it.

"Making up for lost meals." I teased her. She just grinned at me.

"It's great to see you looking, well, alive again." She told me.

I nodded. "It's nice to be back to myself. What did you want to talk about?"

"Right." Her face sobered. "You know I can charmspeak, right?"

I nodded. We had talked about it after her quest. It was a rare ability, but a powerful one if the user could learn how to wield it.

Piper took a breath. "I'd like to, like, practice it, I think. Before I need to use it. And I don't want to do it on mortals who can't consent."

I nodded. That made sense.

Piper continued, "So, I was wondering if you would be my, uh, guinea pig, I guess."

I had a sudden thought of the time Percy was transformed into an actual guinea pig. I didn't think that was what Piper had in mind. "So, you want me to…" I asked her.

Piper nodded. "We'll need to come up with stuff to have you do and I'll try to make you do it."

I grinned at her. "Yeah. Ok. Sounds like a plan. After lunch though, ok? I promised Leo I'd help him finish what we started with the engine this morning."

Piper nodded gratefully. "Sounds perfect. What are you doing with the engine, by the way?"

"Honestly, I only understand about 10%. I'm not used to working with machines. Probably won't explode. But I'll see you after lunch, ok?"

Piper nodded but looked troubled. "Is there somewhere we can be, I don't know, alone for this? I don't want to try this in front of a bunch of people."

For an Aphrodite kid, Piper was not a fan of attention. But I got it. It was trying a new skill. She wanted to make mistakes in private. I thought about it for a minute, then the idea hit. "Meet me in the Poseidon cabin." I told her. Her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, it's empty, right?" Though I meant the comment to reassure her, it still hit me in the heart. It was empty. And I didn't like that one bit.

I walked into the Poseidon cabin after lunch. The morning had gone well. My siblings and Leo's cabin mates had worked on crafting the hull with the help of the Hecate and Demeter cabins. The Demeter cabin would grow trees right in front of us, making sure they were the best size and shape for the Argo II. Plus, we didn't harm any dryads' trees this way. The Hecate cabin then enchanted each piece of wood so that it was both impossibly light but very strong - able to withstand attacks but also able to fly. The Athena and Hephaestus kids would then work together to build the frame for the hull. It was hard, repetitive work, but we had started to get the general shape of a ship going. That was worth something.

Percy's cabin was the same as when I first looked for him that morning. It was a month ago, I realized. His clothes were still on the floor. His weapons needed to be cleaned and sharpened. His bed was still made, but thankfully, Piper was sitting on it so it didn't freak me out as much as the first time I saw it. Piper got up with a start.

"Sorry, I didn't know if I should -"

I waved off the comment. I left the door open, since we weren't supposed to be alone in a cabin, like, ever. I gestured around the room. "So, there's a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. And I don't want to clean it. Make me." I flashed her a grin.

Slowly, a smile spread on her face. She nodded and took a deep breath. "Annabeth, pick up the towel." She pointed to a blue towel on the floor near my feet, but nothing else happened.

"Try again." I urged her.

"Annabeth, I need you to pick up the towel." She said it with more force, but still, I wasn't feeling any different.

We tried a few more times. "Maybe you need to want it more?" I mused. "How about this? Make me pick up the towel, or you have to pick up all the boxers."

Her face reddened. It might have been mean, but hey, it worked. "Annabeth. Pick up the towel." My body moved before I could react. I picked up the towel.

Piper grinned. By the time our hour together was up, I had picked up all the dirty clothes and Piper was worn out. Even though it was nasty work, I had to smile. Piper was gaining confidence in her powers. And that, cleaning up the boxers excluded, was a good thing.