"We can do this." Percy said. "We have to."
"Yeah." Annabeth said. "Yeah, we do."
They held the doors shut as the elevator shuddered and the music played, while somewhere below them a Titan and a giant sacrificed their lives for their escape.
The journey up the elevator was agonisingly long. After spending gods know how long in the pit, every second spent on the way out felt like hours. They both felt extremely weak, yet they refused to collapse now. They needed to get back into the mortal world before they could rest, otherwise the recent sacrifices would have been in vain. But it was just so hard to stay awake. Every second spent waiting led to the effects of their adrenaline weakening. Slowly more wounds hurt, more muscles ached, and more pain was felt.
After a few more tense minutes the elevator came to a stop. Both Annabeth and Percy looked at each other, unsure what to expect from the other side. They each went to one of the elevators doors and prepared to pull the doors open.
They looked into each other's eyes before Percy gave a weak smile and softly said "as long as we're together. Right?"
Annabeth returned the smile with a nod before she replied with "as long as we're together."
With that they both pulled with as much strength as they could muster.
Diana and her mother, Queen Hippolyta, walked into the cavern followed by a couple dozen amazon warriors, fully clad in armour with weapons in hand.
As they approached the battalion, a commanding amazon turned and knelt "my queen the gates are about to open once again." She reported.
Hippolyta nodded before responding "this will mark the thirty third week and we are yet no closer to finding the cause." She then turned to the troops following her and ordered "Amazons into defensive formation!"
All the warriors began to move into their positions without hesitance. They had been doing this for so long now that none questioned their role in the defence against the creatures of Tartarus. As they did, Hippolyta turned to her daughter and gave her a light smile.
"I am glad that you are with us Diana. We can use your strength in the coming battle." She whispered with a little warmth.
Diana gave a small nod "of course mother. Themyscira is still my home and I will defend it with my life. And anything that comes out those doors is a threat too not only Themyscira but also to man's world."
"Then let us be ready as well." And with that said Hippolyta drew her sword and began making her way to the front of the battalion with Diana following behind her.
All the amazons stood ready waiting for whatever creatures came out of those doors and as they waited, they could hear the doors being pulled apart ever so slowly. Knowing the battle was about to begin Hippolyta addressed her warriors.
"We amazons have stood guard of the doors to Tartarus for millennia and after this day we shall continue our duty to guard them. We have called Themyscira our home for millennia and we shall continue to call it our home for millennia to come. For this day is not the day in which we fail our duty, nor is it the day in which we lose our home. This day like many before it will be a day in which we are victorious. A day in which we slay these creatures. A day in which we uphold our duty and safeguard the world from the inhabitants of Tartarus. Now let us prove the gods right in their decision to give us this sacred duty. For the gods!"
"For the gods!" was chorused back. The echo of over a hundred Amazonian soldiers reverberating through the cavern.
With her speech finished Hippolyta settled into her own stance. One that was mirrored by her daughter beside her. By this time the doors had been opened half way, a big enough gap for creatures to start exiting. Hippolyta saw something move from behind the doors into the cavern and without any hesitation she called "Archers."
Upon the command the archers, who had their bows drawn, simultaneously released their arrows at the opening.
As they pried the doors open and light seeped into the elevator, Percy couldn't stop himself from feeling a sense of relief. That was until two things happened. One, Annabeth body finally gave out, after all their trails and she collapsed forward, into the opening. Sadly, this led too event two. Whoever that was beyond the door wasn't expecting demigods, so when they saw movement in the form of Annabeth their leader gave the order to open fire on them.
Without a moment's hesitation, Percy went to pick up Annabeth and move behind the cover of the partially opened door. However, he overestimated how much strength he had remaining and merely stumbled and fell next to her. Now knowing he didn't have the strength to get them out of the line of fire in time, Percy could think of only one way to protect Annabeth. Moving against the door Annabeth opened, Percy brought her into his chest while his back faced the volley of arrows. Luckily, Annabeth's lower body was still behind the door, protected from any harm. Which made it much easier to cover her with his body as he bent his head down to avoid a fatal wound.
After a fraction of a second several arrows lodged themselves into Percy's back. He let out a gasp of more surprise than pain. Afterall, considering how much pain his body was already in, it was only the initial shock that hurt before the pain blended into the rest of his body.
Percy tried to scream at them to stop, but his throat was dry, his lungs having very little oxygen, all that came out was a pained rasp. He could hear bows being drawn, the sound of a charging army, but everything started to blur together. Percy could feel his consciousness slipping. Looking down he just stared at Annabeth's sleeping visage. It brought a small amount of comfort to him. That even if these were his final moments, the last thing he'd see would be her. Even after traversing Tartarus for gods know how long, Percy still found her breathtakingly beautiful. And with that final thought everything went black.
After the first volley was fired, Hippolyta swiftly gave the order for their infantry to charge. With firm resolve the amazons charged forward with inhuman speeds. Leading the charge, Diana felt something amiss. In the previous attacks' monsters flooded through the gate even after the first wave was thwarted. Yet this time she couldn't see any more movement from the gates. "could some of them have stuck past before or during the volley?" she thought to herself in confusion. The thoughts lingered for only a moment before she hardened her resolve. "No, that's impossible. No creature could have snuck past over a hundred amazons. It's likely just a small group of more powerful monsters."
However, as they drew closer the feeling of unease grew. Diana could make out a very humanoid figure that seemed to be kneeling with their back turned. She could see 6 arrows lodged into the figures back and while none of the wounds seemed fatal, she couldn't see any signs of movement or pain. As they grew closer the rest of the charging amazons began to properly see the figure. By the time they were 30ft away the charge of the amazons was reduced to a cautious but curious march. At this close distance Diana could see that the figure was a male humanoid, but she also noticed that he seemed to be shielding something. "Or someone." She added in thought.
"Hold!" She commanded to the rest of the warriors. Diana stepped closer cautiously, a small part of her afraid it was a trap. She began to step closer and round to the side in the hopes of seeing if there was anything hidden. She had to hold in a gasp when she saw his face. His skin was deathly pale and seemed to cling to his bone. His breath was shallow and raspy and from what she could see he was littered in cuts. Glancing down she saw what he was protecting. Cradled into his chest was a blonde girl who looked too be in a similar state to the boy. Seeing their states, any hesitation Diana had vanished, as she sheathed her sword and closed the gap to them before checking their vitals.
"They are human" she shouted for all in the cavern to hear "they require medical attention."
Soon after, Hippolyta came and joined her daughter. "A man? It's a man coming out of Tartarus Diana. surely you do not expect us to treat the wounds of an obviously horrible being. It seems that your time in man's world has affected you." She stated harshly upon looking at the scene.
Diana turned to her mother with furrowed brows "This man risked his own life to shield this maiden. The least we can do is give him the benefit of the doubt." She retorted. Seeing her mother stand resolute Diana began to think of how to convince her. "We can keep him under constant watch and question him with the lasso. Perhaps he has insight into what has been causing the sudden influx of monsters. Surely this information is worth such a slight risk? Besides, look at him even if we heal his wounds it would likely take weeks if not months for him to heal completely. How is he a threat?"
Hippolyta seemed to consider her words. It seemed that potential information appealed to the queen, though not heavily enough for her to make a quick decision. After several more moments in thought, Hippolyta gave a slight nod while her face maintained an unpleased look.
"Very well." She relented "Take the girl to the infirmary. The boy goes to the cells." Diana was about to interrupt but a look from her mother stopped her. "His wounds will be treated there and as this is your idea, you shall stand guard."
Diana simply nodded to her mother. While displeased, it was a compromise she was willing to work with. In truth, she agreed with her mother. Her time in mans world had changed her. However, she wasn't of the opinion it was a negative change. While the atrocities that man are capable of were never exaggerated, life on Themyscira left her ignorant to the good they were also capable of. Two of her most trusted friends, Batman and Superman, were proof enough of mans ability to do good.
Diana waited for a couple of amazons to take to the girl on a stretcher towards the infirmary before lifting the boy, being mindful to avoid his wounds. She absentmindedly noticed that he seemed light for his height. As she walked past, Diana ignored the looks she was getting from her sisters. It was a shame that her sisters remained as ignorant as she once was. Once she reached the dungeon Diana gently laid him on the ground stomach down. She stood guard as a couple of doctors treated his wounds and continued to stand guard as they left mentioning that he'll live.
It was disheartening to see her sisters do as little as possible to heal their patient just because he was a male, but Diana didn't protest. Getting him simple treatment was trouble enough, trying to do more would cause tension between her and her mother, which wouldn't be beneficial if the male needed her aid again.
So, she remained, watching over an unconscious male in a cell, waiting for him to awaken.
Annabeth let out a groan as she slowly came to consciousness. She could feel her whole body aching and she refused to open her eyes for the time being. She instead began to think about what happened.
"we found the Parthenos. We were going to bring it back but, but –" She thought to herself. Her mind still foggy. It felt like this was the first time she had truly slept for years and she was coming out of a daze. What happened next alluded her. All she could remember was being with Percy and struggling to survive. She remembered feeling despair, but she couldn't remember why. "Percy and I were struggling, but we were together. As long as we were together!"
With that last sentence everything came back. The fall, Bob, the curses, Akhlys, Nyx and their escape. Yes. they had managed to escape, but she passed out as they opened the door. Annabeth shot up into a seated position, ignoring the pain that flared with the sudden action and began to look at her surroundings.
The room reminded her of the infirmary at camp half-blood, however the main difference was that the structure was made of marble. The architecture was clearly beautiful, and she would love to study it closer however, the next thing she noticed worried her. Percy, or anyone she would expect to be around, were nowhere in sight.
"Percy." She tried to shout as she climbed out of bed. Only for it to come out as a croak and her throat to hurt out of soreness. As she put her weight on her feet, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor causing more pain to flash through her body.
Annabeth soon heard hurried footsteps rush towards her, and her body relaxed. "Of course, he was close by." She thought to herself. As she tried to climb back onto the bed. But when she looked to the entrance, she felt herself tense slightly. Through the door came several women. The leading two were dressed in chitons while the next two were clad in armour carrying spears and shields.
Annabeth tried to ask who they were, but her voice was hoarse, so the words were indistinguishable. One of the leading women turned to the other and said, "Inform Queen Hippolyta that she has awoken." Before kneeling to help Annabeth onto the bed. "Please, calm yourself. You have been unconscious for two days and your body is still recovering, here drink some water."
After taking the glass, Annabeth gulped down the contents in seconds. She couldn't recall how long its been since she had a glass of water, but it was far too long. The soreness in her throat receded slightly and she quickly gestured for another glass. The, what she presumed to be a doctor or nurse, quickly obliged and refilled the glass which was downed with the same amount of vigour.
Feeling some confidence in her voice now Annabeth tried to speak again. "Where am I? Where is Percy?" She asked. The questions coming out in a quite rasp but well enough to be understood.
She noticed the guards tense. Likely prepared if she decided to attack. She assumed these women were Amazons considering they sent for a Queen named Hippolyta, but that made her weary. These weren't the Amazons that Percy met and told her about and the original Queen Hippolyta died millennia ago. Several scenarios ran through her mind, none of them bode well. The first possibility, they had somehow travelled into the past. The second, Hippolyta and the original amazons were brought back to life. Or the third, they were in an alternate timeline where they never died. Out of the three the second was the one Annabeth hoped for.
At best they would gain an ally in their war against Gaia and at worst they would gain an enemy against their ally, the current Amazons. But gods forbid it wasn't option two. If that were the case, there is the possibility that they would never see their friends again. Unable to help bring an end to the war. Annabeth could feel tears start to well at the thought, but she quickly steered her thoughts away. She'd deal with that possibility, if it were true, after she had found Percy.
"where are you seaweed brain?" Crossed her mind with the last thought.
The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder before explaining in a soft voice "Your questions will be answered when our queen arrives. Until then you can relax. You are safe here."
Annabeth gave a nod in response, which received a smile in return. Although, this didn't put Annabeth at ease. If she was correct in believing them to be amazons, Annabeth couldn't help but worry about Percy. She continued to look around, planning an escape for if it was required and trying to deduce how to find Percy.
After a few minutes of tense silence, in which Annabeth prepared four escape plans, a beautiful woman walked in followed by another two guards. She had long curly black hair and light blue eyes. She wore a lovely, pure white peplos with gold ornaments and golden bracers, looped earrings and headband signifying her position as Queen. Her features were firm, but her eyes were not unkind. A fitting expression for a ruler.
She stopped at the foot of the bed, the nurse and the guards bowing as she entered. She looked Annabeth in the eye before speaking in a commanding tone "I am Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira. We have guarded the doors to Tartarus for over three millennia and this is the first-time humans have come out those doors. Who are you and why are you here?"
Annabeth paled at those words. The doors to Tartarus were in Epirus. That was where they were meant to meet up with Nico and the others. She could feel the tears begin to sting in her eyes as she clenched her fists.
"My-my name is Annabeth Chase." She managed to choke out in response before taking a couple of breaths to calm herself. "Me and my boyfriend were dragged into Tartarus by Arachne. I don't know how long we were in there."
Hippolyta raised a brow and a frown marred her face. "Do you expect me to believe that. Arachne had been dead for millennia and we guard the only door between Tartarus and the mortal world. Now, I will ask again. If you wont willingly give us the truth, we have ways of making you tell the truth."
Annabeth clenched her fists tighter as a few tears began to fall. While being called a liar was frustrating, the information given had confirmed her fears. "I have no way to prove to you I'm not lying, but I believe we are from a different reality." Annabeth began. As she looked at Hippolyta through her tears, she could see she had caught the queen's attention. "In our reality, when a monster is slain it is sent to Tartarus. However, in Tartarus the monsters begin to reform. And once they do, they can return to the mortal world. In our world the entrance to Tartarus is in Epirus. We-we were meant to reunite with our friends there."
Annabeth noticed Hippolyta's eyes soften slightly. "That is quite the tale young one. We will verify your claims later. If they are true, you will have given us valuable insight. For now, rest and I shall have some food brought to you." Annabeth could see that Hippolyta was still unsure if she was telling the truth but stopped her questioning there. As she turned to leave Annabeth asked one more thing.
"Where is Percy?" Even to herself Annabeth's voice came out weak. But she couldn't care at the moment. All her friends were in the middle of a war and she was in some other reality. Her only hope being that Percy was with her. If he wasn't… Annabeth ignored that fear and focused on the Queen.
Hippolyta turned back towards her. Annabeth could see her features once again become stern. "The male that was with you is currently in a cell. His more serious wounds have been treated, but he remains unconscious." Hippolyta informed without emotion.
Annabeth once again tried to stand, this time gaining managing to maintain her balance with some effort. "Why is he in a cell and not here? Let me see him. Please." A small part of her thought she sounded desperate, but she didn't care.
"As long as we're together." Those words echoed in her mind. Her only salvation in this crazy situation.
Hippolyta looked at her and stared for a few moments before giving a small nod. "very well, you may see him. As for why he's in a cell, well males aren't welcome on Themyscira. If it wasn't for my daughter's insistence, I would have had him thrown back into Tartarus. Even if all men aren't inherently bad, he just walked out of Tartarus. I wasn't willing to take that chance."
Annabeth was unsure whether to laugh or be angered that they thought Percy would be a threat, but she stopped herself from expressing either emotion and gave a nod. Logically speaking, it made a lot of sense to not trust anything that came out of Tartarus. And while she didn't agree with the notion that she was fine because she was female, Annabeth would take this opportunity to see if she could get herself and Percy out of this situation unscathed.
Annabeth soon found herself following the queen, leaning on the doctor - who first gave her water - for support. As she walked through Themyscira, Annabeth couldn't help but admire the architecture. Of course, there were a few things that she would have personally done differently and likely better, but that was the pride as the architect of Olympus speaking.
After struggling through an admittedly beautiful landscape, they descended into a cave that had some guards stationed outside. Annabeth took note of the fact that everyone they crossed gave a bow to the queen. It seemed that Queen Hippolyta was well respected.
While wandering through the cave system, Annabeth made sure to memorise the route as well as the exploitable terrain in case she had to save Percy from an island full of women who hated and imprisoned any male trespassers. Annabeth had to pause at that thought. "dear gods, it's Circe's island all over again. How has seaweed brain managed to get into the same situation twice?" She thought to herself, almost impressed.
Within a few minutes they came into a larger hallway with cells lining both walls. However, as Annabeth looked around, she noticed there were very few guards and all the cells she could see where empty.
Continuing to look around, she noticed an amazon who was dressed vastly different from the other guards watching over a single cell. She assumed this was Hippolyta's daughter. Not only due to their similar appearance, but because she doubted Hippolyta would give the responsibility of the male to anyone but the one who defended him.
As they approached the woman turned to them and Annabeth got a better look. She shared her mothers' blue eyes and black hair as well as similar facial structures. The two main differences being her hair was straight and her eyes were much kinder and expressive. Although, Annabeth did question what she was wearing.
She had on a strapless red bustier held up by a brace of gold, a large golden belt and blue briefs with five white stars on them. It left Annabeth baffled. While incredible for manoeuvrability, it seemed as useful as a party dress in terms of protection. She couldn't think of any demi-god that would wear something like that to battle if they wished to live. Even the hunters of Artemis wore some light armour that didn't hinder their movement.
The woman quickly bowed to the approaching queen. It seemed that not even the princess was exempt from their ways.
"Mother." She said clearly, with more warmth then Annabeth had heard since she had awoken.
"Diana, how is the boy?" Hippolyta responded. Hippolyta attitude reminded Annabeth of her own mother. To most they would seem uncaring, but they cared in their own way. Looking at Hippolyta's soften eyes told her everything she needed to know about how she felt about her daughter.
Diana, as Annabeth now knows her by, took a glance at her and gave a light smile, seemingly in an attempt to comfort her. In all honesty, it worked. Diana just seemed to have a certain warmth to her. She then looked back at her mother as she schooled her features.
"He is recovering. His wounds have been tended too, but he has remained unconscious." Diana reported succinctly.
Annabeth knew she shouldn't interrupt but hearing about the serious wounds again unsettled her.
"What do you mean tended to his wounds? Yes, we had a few wounds when we fought out, but nothing that should have kept him out longer than me. And nothing that would require special attention." She blurted out in slight panic. As she was speaking, she stumbled towards the cell Diana was watching when they arrived, having let go of the doctor supporting her. She gripped onto the bars as support while she looked into the cell. She could see Percy laid onto a bed seemingly asleep. She felt herself relax slightly when she saw his chest moving up and down.
Annabeth noted that she was acting very possessive over Percy. He had been in far worse situations and she had known far less information at those times, but she never became as frantic as she was acting now. It just felt like everything else was gone and if she didn't watch him, he'd disappear too.
Being alone again was always her biggest fear. It had been ever since she found a family in Thalia, Luke and later Chiron and the other campers. Then after thinking Percy was dead for two weeks, loosing him became her second biggest fear. A fear that was later realised for eight months. And after finally getting him back she wasn't sure which fear was worse. Now though, everything was different. No longer were being alone and losing Percy two separate fears. In this new world with no idea if its possible to return home and no one else to rely on, both those fears were one and the same. At this moment Annabeth felt like a seven-year-old girl again. Running from loneliness. Trying to find a place where she was wanted.
Annabeth felt a couple of tears fall down her face and could feel herself shaking lightly. Before they could even answer her previous question, she asked quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. "Let me in. Please let me in."
She heard some shuffling behind her, but she refused to take her eyes off Percy. Soon Diana came next to her with a key and opened the cell door. Annabeth let out a quiet "thank you" as she slowly walked in trying to keep herself steady.
After some shuffling around, Annabeth managed to sit on the bed with Percy's head in her lap and began to run her hand through his hair, the action itself calming her. It made her think of the peaceful couple of weeks they had at the end of the Titan war. Herself and Percy would often sit under Thalia's pine together. He'd be laying in her lap while she played with his hair or she'd be sat between his legs leaning into him as she either read or worked on her Olympus designs. Regardless of which way round it was, Peleus was always there guarding the fleece and making sure they were left alone.
Now sufficiently calmer, she turned to the other occupants of the room.
"Have you given him any water?" She questioned, far more composed then she had been since she had awakened. And judging by everyone else's reactions, they noticed as well.
"He has been given enough to keep him hydrated. Why?" Diana responded confused.
"Water can heal him." Was Annabeth's simple response.
Annabeth noticed Diana look at her mother, so she too turned to face Hippolyta. She could see Hippolyta debate with herself. Before a decision could be made Annabeth spoke again.
"Please. Once he wakes up, we can tell you everything we know. You said that I might have provided you with some insight. We might be able to help you some more, just help me wake him."
Hippolyta turned to one of the guards and nodded before the guard left the cell. Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, content with the outcome. No information she had was worth more than Percy.
A few minutes later the guard returned with a jug of water before quickly handing it to her. Annabeth took it with a small "thank you". She began to steadily pour the water into his mouth. Looking around a small smirk played on her lips when she didn't stop pouring the water. Maybe Percy has rubbed off on her a bit, but making people think she was drowning her boyfriend was amusing. Although, she was slightly surprised when no-one stopped her from "drowning" Percy. It seemed they really didn't like males here.
Once the jug was empty, she set it down before continuing to stare at Percy's face. She couldn't help but think him cute as he slept, and she just spent the time memorising his features. Once again, she was confused when no one spoke. She was expecting some questions as soon as she finished but it seems the amazons were more empathetic than that.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Percy groaned before turning over and burying his face in Annabeth's stomach. She smiled before leaning down and whispering in his ear.
"Wake up seaweed brain."
"Too comfy. Back hurts." He groaned out loud enough for everyone to hear.
Annabeth just smirked at that "You do realise your comfy pillow is my lap and your snuggled up to my stomach? And while I don't mind, we have guests." She countered in the hopes of embarrassing him awake.
What she didn't expect was him to remain where he was as he retorted "I know, and I don't care. They're probably the ones who shot me in the back in the first place." His voice far clearer now, letting everyone know he was awake, just being stubborn.
However, Annabeth didn't focus on that. She instead focused on the new piece of information. After she went unconscious, he was shot in the back. Those were likely the wounds that were brought up earlier. She raised her head to face the amazons. Looking at each of them, only Diana seemed to be ok with Percy's stubbornness. The woman had a small smile on her face as she watched both her and Percy. Queen Hippolyta remained blank, not giving away her emotions. However, the guards and doctors didn't look pleased at Percy's disrespect towards their queen.
While Annabeth was glad Percy was ok and was being Percy,she could really do without the part of him that pisses off people who might try and kill him. "Percy, you really need to get up. We aren't exactly in a good situation at the moment and you're currently doing your 'piss of people that haven't decided to kill you' thing."
Looking around again, she noticed her statement alleviated some of the tension. Diana looked very amused and she could see a slight twitch in Hippolyta's mouth. The guards seemed to relax slightly but still looked offended.
"Fine, but first." He said as he turned so he was facing up. Annabeth looked back down as he spoke and stared at his beautiful green eyes. He smiled at her and continued in a relieved tone. "We made it out. Together."
Annabeth couldn't stop the smile that came onto her face as he said that. All the worries she had since she awoke were washed away as she looked at him now.
Percy slowly sat up, groaning all the while. As he got into a sitting position, he swung his legs off the bed and leaned against the wall. Annabeth quickly snuggled into his side. While she wasn't a fan of being so openly affection in front of possible enemies, she needed the certainty of his presence to maintain a calm attitude in this situation with so many unknowns. It was comforting when he didn't resist and put his arm around her.
"Hi." Percy greeted casually with his usual lopsided grin. Seemingly unaware of the tension he caused. Annabeth rolled her eyes at that. Such a Percy thing to do.
Of course, the amazons weren't too pleased with Percy's callous greeting in front of their queen, but they didn't speak out. Hippolyta stepped forward to address Percy.
"My name is Hippolyta of Themyscira, Queen of the amazons. Annabeth has informed me that you two may have information that holds value to us." She said. Her tone even and authoritative. Unfortunately, she had never met someone like Percy.
Percy turned to Annabeth and whispered "umm… I thought Hylla was Queen. I remember her wanting to kill me very well. Like in a lot of detail."
Annabeth continued to watch the amazons grow even more frustrated with the disrespect Percy was showing. Even Diana and Hippolyta weren't too happy with Percy's reaction to being addressed by the Queen. Making the decision to save her boyfriend Annabeth spoke up.
"Sorry, Percy's just confused. He met the amazons of our world and they had a different Queen."
That seemed to calm the others slightly. Hippolyta began to speak again. "Yes, well we have" was all she managed to say before she was interrupted by Percy.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean 'amazons of our world'? What other world is there?" after he finished that, he turned to Hippolyta and stared at her warily. "Come to think of it, whose side are you on? Are you allied with the giants?"
Annabeth could see everyone in the room tense. Percy looked ready to try and fight his way out if they answered wrong, while the amazons seemed to have enough of Percy's attitude. All the while Annabeth grew more annoyed with Percy's ability to infuriate the wrong people at the wrong time.
"Alright!" Annabeth exclaimed. Drawing the attention of the other occupants. Once she had everyone's attention, she started speaking to Percy again, but in a calmer sympathetic tone. "Percy, when we exited Tartarus, I think we entered into another reality. This reality only has one entrance to Tartarus and it's her on Themyscira. Here monsters don't come back. Arachne has been dead for millennia. That means it's the same for the minotaur, medusa, chimera. Any monster you can think of, they don't come back here. Now before you say anything, I agreed to give them any information they want."
Percy didn't respond to that. Even when she spoke so hopefully when talking about the lack of monsters. She wasn't surprised though. It was a lot to take in. She then turned back to Hippolyta.
"so, what do you want to know?" She asked.
"before we begin, we shall explain something to you both." Hippolyta announced before turning to Diana.
Diana stepped forward and pulled a lasso off her waist. As she displayed it for them to see she began her explanation. "This is known as the lasso of truth. Those who are wrapped in it are compelled to tell the truth. If you try to lie or resist, you find yourself unable and the lasso will begin to burn you. We wish to use the lasso to verify any information you may give us."
Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, a silent debate that lasted a few seconds before they both nodded to Diana. Seeing their agreement, Diana moved to bind Annabeth's right wrist to Percy's left. After ensuring the bind was secure but not painful Diana stepped back holding the other end of the lasso.
"We'll start of simple, who are you and how did you come to be in Tartarus?" Hippolyta questioned.
"I am Annabeth Chase." She started before Percy jumped in.
"And I'm Perseus Jackson." He paused for a couple of second looking uncomfortable before he added on. "Seriously this lasso won't even let me say my names Percy. Everyone calls me Percy, even my mom."
"The lasso compels you to speak only the truth. While you may go by the name Percy, the truth is your name is Perseus. Therefore, you must answer with Perseus." Diana explained. They both nodded to that but didn't think much on it, it was only a minor detail when they planned to speak the truth anyway.
"As for how we ended up in Tartarus." Annabeth started, but hesitated for a moment. Now that they were out, she had time to reflect on how it happened and couldn't help but blame herself. After she pushed Arachne in, she thought it was over. But because she became complacent, they both suffered for it. But nonetheless she continued.
"I was tasked with retrieving the Athena Parthenos. Once I found it, I discovered it was guarded by Arachne. After battling Arachne, I managed to defeat her by pushing her into a hole that fell straight into Tartarus. But… but I relaxed too soon. Due to the amount of webbing in the area I failed to notice that a thread was attached to my leg. I believe the other end was still connected to Arachne because I was soon pulled in. I-I-I…" Annabeth tried to continue but the lump in her throat prevented her from talking. The guilt of getting Percy dragged in as well ate at her. She knew Percy wouldn't blame her and she knew he would do it again. But the fact it had happened to begin with felt like her fault.
She looked to her lap, unable to face anyone. She could feel Percy tighten his grip as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.
"As she fell in, I managed to catch her. We held out as long as we could for someone to pull us up, but I felt her hand slipping. I had a choice, let her go or fall with her." Percy then looked at Annabeth as a small smile came onto his face. "I made my choice." Percy finished.
Annabeth looked up to see the reactions of their audience. Diana was looking at Percy in awe, something that Annabeth thought fitting. Not many people can say their boyfriend jumped into Tartarus for them. The others however seemed to be stuck between awe and disbelief. She didn't doubt that it was due to some prejudice against men. Then there was Queen Hippolyta. Even now Annabeth wasn't exactly sure what she thought of them or the story. However, she seemed far less impressed than the others.
"For the past thirty-three weeks monsters have been coming out of those gates frequently. Before then the gates have only been accessed a handful of times. Do you have any idea what the cause of the influx of monsters is?" Hippolyta inquired, seemingly uncaring of the information presented before.
Annabeth took a moment to think. Thirty-three weeks was just under eight months. That was roughly how long Percy had been missing and about the length of the war. There had been a large influx of monsters during that time period for them as well. Taking this as the likely cause Annabeth began to explain it.
"We have been having an issue for about that long as well." She stopped for a moment to think how to explain the situation quickly but clearly. "About eight months ago a war started between the Olympians and the Gigantes. The Gigantes have the support of Tartarus himself, as well as all the monsters. Because of this Tartarus has been allowing many monsters easier access to the mortal world. It's my theory that some of the monsters have been coming out here instead of in our reality, much like we did."
She watched as Hippolyta stood there in thought. Likely going over the implications of the war and the possible effect it could have on this reality. She could also see the worry in the amazon's eyes as they stared at their queen. She couldn't blame them, it wasn't a situation too be taken lightly and now that they knew that their reality was endangered as well, they were likely eager to take action.
Hippolyta seemed to come to a conclusion within her thoughts for now as she looked at them both again. "This information has been very helpful in understanding our situation. While it seems, we cannot take any action to prevent the attacks, at least we now know the source. You have been very co-operative and for that I'm willing to allow you both to stay here on Themyscira until you recover."
To that Annabeth relaxed slightly, glad to know that Percy's survival odds on this island just went up. She looked to him and noticed he was fidgeting a bit. She could tell he seemed to want to say something but was forcing himself to keep his mouth shut for now. It seemed he may have finally learnt to let her handle the diplomacy so that their chance of survival increased.
"I would love to know more about your reality, but that can wait." Annabeth turned back to Hippolyta. "For now, I only have one more question. Who are you both to be woven into the affairs of the gods? I take it you are not mere mortals."
Annabeth felt nervous after that question. While she was proud of who her mother was. She had no idea how this alternate reality will handle a virgin goddess having a child. Luckily or unluckily for her, Percy didn't have the same reservations.
"Like we said I'm Perseus Jackson and she's Annabeth Chase. We are demi-gods. In our world there's a whole camp full of us. We kind of just do all of the gods dirty work for them." He said thoughtlessly.
"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed as she turned to him. They had no idea how the amazon's relationship with the gods was. To say something so rude about the gods when they had no idea if they would take offence to that was just… stupid. Annabeth faced the amazons again and quickly came to the conclusion that yes, the amazons definitely worshipped the gods.
The guards had brought up their spears posed to attack if ordered and she noticed the others had tensed with frowns on their faces.
"I do not know your relationship with the gods of your world, but here we treat the gods with the respect they deserve. Let that be your only warning Perseus Jackson." Hippolyta said as the guards lowered their weapons. "Now I would like to apologise for breaking my word when I asked for only one more question, but I am curious. Who are you godly parents?"
"He is a son of Poseidon." Annabeth blurted out quickly in the hopes of preventing Percy from saying something offensive again. She paused as she thought about what she was about to say. "Then again what I'm about to say can be seen as very offensive."
"As for me I am a daughter of Athena." She finished.
Well the spears were back up again. Annabeth guessed they liked the implication of that sentence very much.
So a couple of things:
1) Wonder Woman. While she is a minor character in young justice, I don't like her portrayal in it. I've often viewed Wonder Woman as a very compassionate character who attempts diplomacy and understanding first. How she basically verbally attacks batman in his recruitment of robin (in the episode "Agendas") always bothered me so I'm taking the liberty to alter her personality somewhat to fit how I view wonder woman as a character.
2) This is somewhat tied to point one. Due to that encounter and little interaction with the league itself, the young justice universe doesn't feel like the trinity are particularly good friends like they are in other iterations. That is also another thing I will be tweaking. Essentially I will be making some alterations to some characters if I feel it is warranted / expanding on characters that get little representation within the show if they become important to the story.
3) Yes this is currently set before the cannon of young justice. I wont say how long as that will come to light soon. Once I get to cannon it will start by following the show before Percy and Annabeth begin to change events by being involved in them. So those who take issue with following the cannon either deal with it for a few chapters or move on.