Hey there! Welcome back!
Last chapter was a blast. Interesting, right? Let's see who this Cassandra person is! And what exactly is Annabeth's plan to get her back!
- QueenAnnabeth18, thank you for your review! Please read ahead!
For all of you who have followed and favorited this story, thank you so much!
Disclaimer: No, I do not own PJO, HOO or any other amazing creations from Uncle Rick. He does. If I ever get to meet him will I shake his hand and punch him in the jaw? Yes. Yes I will.
ON THE FIC!
The new day came with a scream. Almost everyone left their cabins, trying to find the source of the sound when they saw Rachel lying on the floor. Piper was the first to get to her, helping her sit up. Annabeth came to her as well and that's when it happened. Rachel's eyes opened, but they were hazy. Her lips parted, and the voice of the Oracle came out.
Into the wildlife, away through the deep
A giant's old breath continues to creep.
The seashore gleams, the sun glows
And a final chapter will close.
Rachel collapsed back into Piper's arms and took a deep breath. Chiron was surprised, but allowed the youngster to get back on her feet before questioning her "Rachel? Are you alright?"
"I am now." She smiled sweetly "Thank you."
"Who was that prophecy for, Rachel?" Percy frowned "The Oracle didn't speak names."
"I know. She told me to whom, though." She took a deep breath "The prophecy… is for Nico."
Everyone turned to look at the young lone male standing behind the crowd. He gulped and cleared his throat, frowning. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, eyeing Piper and Rachel carefully.
"The Oracle told me the prophecy was for you, Nico." The red-head stood up with the help of Piper "Now it is up to you to choose who you take with you."
"I… can we discuss this somewhere else?" he lowered his head and walked to the Big House. Rachel and Chiron quickly followed him. Once they were inside the four walls, Chiron questioned "Well, Nico… who will you choose?"
"I don't even know where to start." He sighed "But I guess that, in order to understand it clearly, I want Annabeth to come with me."
"Very well… who is the last of the trio?" Rachel asked.
"You said something about wild life?" he frowned, and Chiron nodded in confirmation "Then I guess Piper. Her charmspeak might come in handy."
"Very well. I will inform Miss McLean and Annabeth of your choice. You leave at noon, be ready." Chiron left the Big House and Rachel turned to Nico.
"Good job with the choosing."
"Good job with the acting." He declared "How did you manage to make the Oracle say the prophecy we created last night?"
"I didn't. It was Piper. She was next to me for a reason." She smiled "Now go on. Leo left you a letter with her address. Make sure you get her back fast."
The boy nodded and left the house, walking to his cabin to prepare his bag. He grabbed the letter on top of his bed and stuffed it in his backpack. He put some sets of clothes, some cubes of ambrosia just in case, a dagger and the picture of his sister that he always carried around. He still had some time to kill, so he thought he should pay a visit to the infirmary.
.
"Annabeth, answer me." Percy called, watching her walk around the room packing her things.
"Percy, just trust me. Can't you do that for once?" she huffed and shoved a tee inside her bag.
"You know I trust you with everything I have, Wise Girl." He sighed, getting up from her bed and taking her hand "Just tell me why you didn't talk Nico into taking me too."
"Percy, Nico had his reasons for choosing Piper. You want to know them, go ask him yourself!" she rolled her eyes "Go to your cabin, please. I'll meet you there, okay?"
"Fine." He walked out of the Athena's cabin and Annabeth sighed in relief.
Little time later, she was entering the Poseidon's cabin without knocking, closing the door. She walked to the desk and grabbed her cap, bagging it, before throwing her bag to the nearest chair and turning to Percy. The young man was laying down on the bed, stomach up, and was eyeing her carefully, but without moving from his spot. Annabeth walked to him, swung one leg over his hips and straddled him.
"Wise Girl."
"Seaweed Brain."
"What do you want now? Came to explain yourself?"
"Percy? You're being an idiot." She leaned down to steal a kiss from him "This is bigger than just a quest okay? This is special, and you will understand just how much when we come back. I promise."
"Why can't I go with you? I could sneak out." He tried, but the blonde placed one finger over his lips.
"Trust me, the lesser the number of people that know about this, the better." She sighed "Percy, I promise I will explain everything to you once we're back. Until then… trust us."
"Okay. Fine." He agreed.
"Thank you." She smiled "But if you really want to help, I have a job for you."
"Of course! Tell me." Percy placed his hands over Annabeth's hips and pulled her closer to him.
"I need you to keep a close eye on Leo." She asked, "Tire him out the next few days, make him drop from exhaustion."
"Okay."
"You want to know why."
"If you don't mind."
"He's close to his breaking point." She tried "That's all I can say. But you can help him by getting his mind focused on things, like sword training or combat. You know, things that make him use his head and his body at the same time."
"Okay. I get it." He bit his lip, looking into her eyes "Annabeth?"
"Yes, Percy?"
"Come here." She leaned down, and he captured her lips in a strong kiss.
He wasted no time in turning them around, so that Annabeth had her back against the bed. She let out a soft moan and Percy kissed her again, more passionately with each passing second. Her hands were tangled in his hair, and his were holding him up and gripping on her hip. She bent her left leg and Percy took that movement to wrap his arm around her back pulling her closer to him.
"P-Percy…" she whispered, as soon as her boyfriend traded her lips for the sensitive skin of her neck "What are we doing?"
"Hum, I'm making sure my girlfriend remembers me the days she's away." He grinned and nipped on the skin softly "What about you?"
"I'm getting distracted by my boyfriend." She bit her lip and sighed.
"Oh, babe, this isn't a distraction." He declared and rolled his hips against hers hard "This is a distraction."
"Percy…" she moaned "I'll be late."
"They'll wait." Percy pulled away only to strip off his shirt and kiss her again.
.
.
At noon, Annabeth met Nico and Piper near Thalia's tree, and waved at the two. "What happened to you?" Piper raised an eyebrow "You look like you've been through a tornado."
"Percy." She simply said, and Nico rolled his eyes while Piper smirked.
"Oh, I see."
"Are we going?" Nico called, and the two laughed and followed him.
Once they reached the end of the hill, Nico declared "Remind me again why I'm helping you."
"Because you are a good person, a good friend, and you care for Hazel, who in turn, cares for Leo. And because I'm sure you do not want to see the whole Camp burned down if something happens to this Cassandra girl." Annabeth declared.
"Hum. Fair point." He nodded "Where to?"
"Utah." Piper declared, and they started walking.
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ
The three arrived in Salt Lake City after three days. Between catching buses, crossing states and fleeing a handful of monsters, the demigods were tired. It was a bright day, Nico rested under the shade of a tree in Liberty Park, Annabeth was buying ice cream for the three and Piper eyed a local map through her shades. The blonde came back and distributed the sweets, before setting down next to Nico and pulling her hair up in a ponytail.
"Well? How are we holding up?" Nico asked.
"Well, according to this… we're in the right place." Piper smiled "The house is twenty minutes away walking."
"That's good." Annabeth moved over so that Piper could sit down next to her.
"So, we're doing this for Leo."
"No…" Piper declared "We're doing this to save a mortal from being attacked by Greek monsters. We've been over this, Nico."
"What is this… Cassandra to Leo anyway?" he asked.
"From what I saw, they're really close friends, if not more. But I can't confirm you on that last one. She's special to him, in ways I never knew. I mean, I didn't even know she existed. Leo kept her a secret from everyone, even from me."
"Maybe he thought he was protecting her." Annabeth offered.
"We should get doing." Nico declared, licking the chocolate from his fingers.
"Yes sir." The girls stood up and Piper rolled the map again.
It took them about twenty minutes, as Piper had predicted, to arrive to their destiny. '926 Lincoln St E' the street said. It was a brick house with two stories, a black roof and a large porch. Nico placed a hand on the tree in front of the house and frowned. He could feel spirits there, but not doomed souls. Spirits willingly there, but doing what, he didn't know. Annabeth took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Are you sure this is it?" Annabeth frowned.
"It was what Leo wrote."
"And since when it is easy to read Leo's chicken scrawl?" Piper raised an eyebrow.
"Can I help you?" A voice asked.
The three turned to see that behind the now opened door stood a young woman. She was around 5''2, tanned skin and pretty. Very pretty. Her long gingerbread colored hair fell down her back in loose waves, her small button nose was sprinkled with freckles, her heart-shaped lips painted red. She wore a black tank top under a baggy long-sleeved crop top, a short white skirt that emphasized her round hips, but fuzzy purple socks covering her small feet.
"Hum, hi." Annabeth cleared her throat "My name is Annabeth, this is Piper, and this is Nico."
"Pleasure. May I know the reason you're knocking at my door?" she raised a perfect eyebrow.
"We're here in Leo's behalf." Nico rolled his eyes.
"Oh." That caught her off guard "Well, if so, he gave you the safe word. What is it?"
Flashback
"She will want a safe word." Leo declared, looking into Nico's eyes.
"Obviously. Which is it?"
"Zombie." He exposed "And if she doesn't roll her eyes or sighs or any signs of remote exasperation, stab that thing in the heart and run."
.
"He did." Nico nodded "Zombie."
The young woman frowned and pursed her lips, before letting out a sigh of annoyance and rolling her eyes "Of course it had to be that one."
Annabeth and Piper looked at Nico, waiting for his confirmation. He was the only one who knew the sign. After a small nod from him, Piper suggested they went inside to talk better. After settling the three teens in the black leather couch of the room, the young woman brought them some fresh lemonade for them to drink.
"Cassandra, right?" Piper asked, and she nodded "Cassandra, why Zombie?"
"Look at me." She declared. At the confusion in their faces, Cassandra got closer to them and looked them in the eye.
"Oh." Nico realized. The eyes they thought as blue were in fact a mixture of colors. A dark green line around the iris, a dark pupil and the inside was a mix between tea green and pastel yellow. Extremely light green-colored eyes, and Nico could not help but compare to the color of a zombie's eyes "Now I get it."
"Yap. He came up with that one in… fifth grade? Yap, fifth grade. And he just rolled with it until today."
"If you don't mind us asking, Cassandra… what is Leo to you?" Piper asked.
"Leo is… someone close to my heart. He's my best friend, my confidant and a story to unfold." She tried "He's too much for me to put in words."
"I see." The Cherokee girl nodded "Do you have your things ready?"
"I do. I packed everything essential to me." She nodded "But mostly clothing."
"Won't your parents worry?" Annabeth frowned.
"I don't have parents." She smiled sadly "I live here with a woman who keeps an eye on me until I turn 18. After that, it's a goodbye for me. She doesn't really care about me to be honest. She just likes the money she receives from the States for taking care of me."
"And people that might worry for you?"
"I quit my job yesterday and told my boss I was leaving town. Didn't know if I would come back. He wished me the best of lucks."
"And friends?" Nico frowned.
"Not a single one." She bit her lip "You guys want to stay for lunch? I make a mean lasagna. And you can use the showers while I cook, you're all sweaty."
"We would greatly appreciate that." Annabeth smiled, and Cassandra got up to fetch them towels and indicate them where the bathroom was.
One hour later, the smell of the lasagna floated around the house and the three teens were out of the shower, fresh and clean. Nico helped Piper set the table as Annabeth assisted with whatever was going on in the kitchen. Despite not knowing how to cook, Cassandra took that as a way to teach her some techniques, and Annabeth's job was reduced to go grab the things she needed to cook.
Soon, the table was set, and Cassandra was bringing to the table a homemade lasagna that not only smelled but looked delicious too. Once served, Nico was the first to dive in and also the first to groan in pleasure. "I'm sorry, but this is too good. I'm Italian and I never tasted a lasagna this good."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Cassandra giggled "You're Italian?"
"Yes." He said between mouthfuls "Nico di Angelo. See the last name?"
"Oh! You're Nico di Angelo!" she exclaimed "Leo told me about you. As a matter of fact, he told me about all of you. It's nice to finally associate a name with the face."
"Leo told you? What did he tell you?" Piper frowned.
"Well, everything." She declared, eating some food "That Annabeth is basically the smartest person of all Camp, that Piper is a beauty with a backbone and Nico is the badass emo."
"Oh. Okay." Piper smiled "Thank you."
"But… if you are referring to the fact that you are demigods, yeah, I know about that too." She commented, and Annabeth choked.
"What?!"
"You believed him?" Nico frowned.
"Well, hard not to, when the guy nearly combusted in front of me once." She smiled "Once he found out what he really was, a son of Hephaestus, all made sense. Plus, I've seen too much to not believe in gods."
"The empousai." Annabeth noted.
"Not just that. I've always been able to see things. The real nature of people. And that includes the monsters beneath the human skin."
"Can you see the dead?" Nico asked.
"No." she shook her head "I think seeing monsters is enough, no?"
"Yeah, that sounds scary enough." Annabeth observed "You can see through the Mist and that is pretty awesome. Even the most powerful demigods are tricked by the Mist."
"That's… interesting. So, when are we going?" Cassandra asked, moving her hair to one side.
"Right now, if you want to." Piper offered, and a smile broke out in her face.
"Okay! Then let's go!" the brunette stood up from the table and went to her room to grab her mountain backpack. When she came back, she had a leather jacket in her hands that seemed too big for her.
"Who's the jacket from?"
"Leo." She smiled "I promised I would return it to him."
"But still…"
"I mean, Piper, even you have to admit. Leo isn't the scrawny little boy he was. He's grown now, and if all that training with Jason didn't earn him some muscles, so I'll be damned." Annabeth smiled "Yeah, that jacket fits him. Might be a little loose though."
"Then you haven't seen the Leo I've been seeing." Cassandra laughed "Shall we go?"
"Yeah." Nico declared, pulling Annabeth by the wrist. Cassandra left the house last, and Nico saw her trace a crude diamond draw with a line on the door, that faintly glowed purple before disappearing, before turning away to walk towards them.
"You good?" he asked, and Cassandra nodded "Yeah, I am. Let's go."
A/N: Yeah, I thought there was more to it too.
I wonder what's going to happen when they go back. Can Cassandra cross the barrier?
First to review gets a free block of cheese!
PS: I told you the chapters weren't usually that long.
LoneeWolf :)