Sally had just convinced her toddler, Estelle, to eat the food placed in front of her when the doorbell rang. "Paul!" she called. "Can you answer the door?"
"One minute," Paul replied. Sally turned her attention back to Estelle, making sure that she ate the food, not made a mess. Sally recalled Percy being a messy toddler. Estelle took after her brother. Sally heard their locks being undone and the door opening. "Hello─ oh my god!"
Sally froze. Who was there? "Hey, Paul." That was… impossible. Sally hurried to the front door. And yet, the impossible seemed quite possible indeed.
"Annabeth?" Sally asked. The young woman looked so healthy, so alive. Not dead. "Annabeth, is that you?"
"Yes."
Sally felt tears prickle in her eyes. Percy hadn't killed her! She knew it! "How are you─"
"Alive?" Annabeth interrupted. "Can we come inside? It's kind of a long story."
"We?" Paul asked, stepping aside to allow her inside. Annabeth moved out of view, stepping back with a pram, two babies sleeping inside.
"Like I said. Long story." Sally examined the children. They couldn't be more than a month old.
"What are their names?" Sally asked.
"Luke and Silena," Annabeth paused hesitantly. Luke… wasn't he the boy that hosted Kronos? And she could recall Percy telling her about a girl named Silena who'd died during the war. "Chase-Jackson."
Sally coughed. "Jackson? As in─"
"Your grandchildren." Sally regarded the children once more. Luke seemed to have Percy's nose.
"M-may I?"
"Of course," Annabeth moved to let the children out of the pram. She hesitated before slowly allowing Sally to hold Silena. "I should explain. But I don't have a lot of time."
"Let me guess, complicated?" Paul asked.
"Very," Annabeth agreed, settling into her tale.
Piper coldly stared at Hazel. "So, Eidolon, why are you possessing Hazel?"
"What?!" Hazel asked, her eyes losing their steely tone. "I'm not being possessed─"
"Eidolon! Don't leave Hazel's body unless specifically ordered to!"
Hazel tensed, baring her teeth. "You're making a mistake, Halfblood!"
"Why are you possessing Hazel?" Piper repeated, pouring Charmspeak into her words. She noticed her friends shifting uncomfortably. The power she poured into her words must've given them urges to answer, even if she wasn't addressing them.
"I was given orders," the Eidolon stated.
"By who?"
"My leader."
"Who is this leader?" Piper was going to strangle this Eidolon.
"Gangrow."
Piper groaned. "Who is Gangrow, specifically?"
"The head Eidolon."
"Why did he order you to possess Hazel?"
"Because he was ordered to do so."
"By who?"
"I don't know. He refused to tell us."
"How is Gangrow different from you?"
"He is the head Eidolon." 'It's possessing Hazel! I can't kill Hazel!'
"Power wise. How is he different from you in terms of power?" Piper asked. The Eidolon looked put out.
"He cannot be controlled or expelled by your foolish powers. He can look upon a god's true form. He can─"
"Who is he currently possessing?" Piper asked. The Eidolon grinned. Hazel's eyes began to glow brighter. "Hazel?" Her body began to convulse violently.
"Your powers cannot stop me from killing her, demigod!"
"Who is he currently possessing?!" The Eidolon grimaced, bile foaming at Hazel's lips. "STOP!" Nothing happened. Piper summoned all of the power she could muster. "I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE HAZEL'S BODY! I ORDER YOU NOT TO POSSESS ANOTHER PERSON, LIVING OR DEAD OR ANY SORT OF MACHINERY, EVER AGAIN!"
Piper swayed backwards. She was caught by a strong set of arms. She looked tiredly up at Jason, her eyes drifting back to Hazel. A fog-like substance seemed to drift out of her body. Nico rushed towards Hazel, enveloping her in his arms. "No! No! NO! You're not about to die on me, Hazel!"
"You okay?" Jason asked.
"Go to Hazel," Piper mumbled. "I'm just… tired." Piper's eyes lulled backwards, darkness taking over.
Sally frowned after Annabeth had explained everything. "So you faked your deaths?"
"I did. Apparently Lou didn't get to finish making Percy's body." Annabeth cast a glare to the door, where Lou Ellen stood invisibly.
"I see. And Percy's been possessed? By an… edolin?"
"Eidolon," Annabeth corrected. "And apparently the Eidolon has accused me of being evil or something."
"Do you think the edi─Eidolons possessed anyone else? Maybe a god or demigod?"
"I…" Annabeth didn't know. "Lou said that these guys were different than normal Eidolons. It's possible."
"I see," Sally said. She smiled. "Well. Go and save my son."
Annabeth looked back at her children. "You'll take care of them? They'll be safe?"
Sally nodded. "If I can raise Percy, safely and successfully, then this'll be a breeze. Besides, Estelle will love them."
Annabeth smiled at Sally. "I'll be back as soon as possible. With Percy."
"Slap him for me!" Sally called after her.
"Alright, Lou," Annabeth said. "Was Sally right? Can gods be possessed by these Eidolons?"
"Wait." Lou paused, looking to be in deep concentration. Her expression broke when she grinned. "Yes. But only the head Eidolon can do that. And he's busy─"
"Have the Eidolons tried whispering into the gods' ears though? You don't have to be possessed for that to happen."
"Umm…" Lou Ellen regained her concentrated expression. 'She's communicating with Chaos,' Annabeth realised. Lou turned to Annabeth. "No. It was too risky for them. They'd have been caught instantly."
"Okay," Annabeth said as they exited the apartment building. "So what's the plan?"
Lou shrugged. "Isn't that your job?"
A grin slowly formed on Annabeth's face as millions of ideas began to run through her head.
(A/N I may or may not have just hurt Hazel… So tell me what you think! Ideas on what is going to happen with Annabeth and Percy! Will she save him? Will she and Lou get caught? And what about Hazel? Will she be hurt? (Don't worry─it's Hazel. We can't ever seriously hurt Hazel.) Leave a comment with your theories!)
