"So," Lou started. "It all began when I was making you and Percy's bodies." Annabeth frowned. "I got your one finished, but I only managed to make Percy's before people arrived. I left because I wasn't about to be blamed for your murder. But then it kind of backfired because Percy was blamed."
"And you let them think that Percy was a murderer?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes. But then I felt bad and went on one of the search parties to find Percy. Nothing really happened except for a conversation I had with Clarisse. But then the good stuff happened." Annabeth merely raised an eyebrow. Lou certainly… changed. "Chaos came to me and offered me penance for lying and not honoring my entire deal. I agreed and so I was given more power than before. I went to your guys' house and saw that you were happy, so I hid it from the view of any gods, mortals, etcetera."
"So what've you been up to for the past three years, then?" Annabeth asked.
"Right. So Order is trying to take over. I've been apprenticing under Chaos and he's offered to make me a goddess─but I have to help out with the war, first." Annabeth blinked. Okay then.
"And why are you talking to me?" Annabeth asked.
"So we discovered that Order can control minds," Lou said. Annabeth groaned audibly. "Percy's under it, and the only way to break the curse is with true love's kiss."
Annabeth levelled her with a stare. "Lou─"
"Okay, okay. No jokes." Lou was less serious. More annoying. Annabeth used to like her, too."Percy was kidnapped. By your friends."
Annabeth cursed. "They think he killed me."
"Not anymore." Lou was suddenly serious. "I wasn't kidding when I said that Percy's under it. You're probably the only person who can get him out."
"What do you mean?"
"They're like amplified Eidolons. Percy can't move or speak of his own volition. He can think but nothing else. Charmspeak can get rid of them, but it wouldn't work on Percy's one. It used to be in Jason Grace but it left and entered Percy. This guy is like the head Eidolon. It's way more powerful. Oh, and it accused you of working with Chaos to bring about the fall of the gods." Well, that was one way to keep Annabeth away.
"How am I the only person that can get it out of Percy?" Annabeth decided to ask.
"Others probably could, but it's like your whole Mark of Athena thing. You're the best option."
"And what do I need to do?" Annabeth asked.
Lou bit her lip. "You have to allow Chaos into your mind, so he can allow you into Percy's mind, then you have to find Percy's most precious memory─that's where Percy will be─and then you have to find the Eidolon, who will be in Percy's worst memory. Any questions?"
"And what will I do with my children? Hire a pet sitter?"
"I could watch them─"
"No."
"Fine. You could bring them to your mortal family, or something." Annabeth didn't think that was a good idea.
"Let me go and get dressed. Then you can bring me to Sally Blofis' apartment."
"Hey, Hazel," Jason said, uneasily. "How are you?"
"Fine." Hazel frowned at them. "So what's this 'surprise' for Percy, then?" Jason raised an eyebrow at Nico. He shrugged innocently.
"Do you remember that fight Percy and I had?" Jason started, meeting Piper's gaze slowly. She shrugged. Jason didn't know what he was doing. "When we went to visit Bacchus?" More than likely, she would. With Jason, he'd still been in charge of what he said and did, but there was always something whispering to him about how Percy was evil or not to trust certain people. Hazel seemed conscious enough to have been in the same predicament.
"Yeah," Hazel nodded. "With the Eidolons. What about it?"
"Oh, nothing. We were just reminiscing." Jason elbowed Piper, pulling her away. Thalia noticed this.
"So!" Thalia said, loudly, drawing Hazel's attention. "We were thinking of throwing a party for Percy and─" Jason tuned her out.
"Should you… Charmspeak it?"
"Yes," Piper said. She frowned. "Are we sure that there's even one in her, though? She only ever─ yeah, nevermind. It's Hazel. She wouldn't hate Percy so easily." Piper sidled back up to the group, grinning excitedly. Huh. He wasn't aware that Piper could fake excitement so easily. "Okay. So Jason and I had an idea for the party. It's basically Simon Says and Truth or Dare combined but with Charmspeak. We wanted to test it out."
"Sounds cool," Rachel says.
"Maybe leave out the dares," Grover said. Jason had to refrain from grinning at the f─ satyr! He meant satyr─ because he seemed to realise what their plan was. "Don't want things to get too hectic."
"Ugh, fine, scaredy cat," Thalia pouted. She sent Grover a wink. "Okay, Piper, do your voodoo."
"It's not voodoo," Piper said. "Okay… let's start out easy. Raise your hand if you've ever thought about banging a god."
"I thought you said easy?" Thalia asked, unwillingly raising her hand. Jason raised an eyebrow. "What? Apollo had just let me drive the sun chariot! Besides, I was fifteen."
"You are fifteen," Nico pointed out.
"Physically."
"By that logic Hazel and I are in our eighties."
"We all know that you're a crazy old man, Nico," Thalia teased. She looked over the group. "I already know who Grover thought about. And, wow. Really, Nico?" Thalia gestured to his raised hand.
Nico shook his head. "No comment."
"Was it Eros?" Jason whispered.
Nico snorted. "Yes. I don't like him, but he's fucking beautiful."
"Moving on," Piper said. "Raise your hand if you've ever felt like personally insulting a god." Everybody's hand rose. Piper rolled her eyes. "How many of those hands are up because of Hera?" Hazel and Rachel's hands went down.
"She was one of my reasons," Nico said. "As well as the other eleven Olympains."
"I was going to say her, my dad, Apollo again or Aphrodite. Sorry Piper, but do you know how many hunters she's bothered with promises of 'love'?" Thalia complained.
"Don't think I want to," Piper muttered. "Okay, let's do a dumb one… raise your hand if you're a monster."
Nobody moved. Slowly, eyes shifted to Hazel. Her hand was twitching up, even as she tried to keep it down.
"Well," Nico said, as the Charmspeak finally worked it's magic. Hazel's arms soared into the sky, clear as day, her eyes filling with a look of loathing that didn't belong on her face. "We found our Eidolon."
(A/N Don't worry, things will be fine. We have a charmspeaker for a reason.)
