Chapter 7: Rescue

Annabeth

"Please be safe, Percy."

Sally shared a warm embrace with her son, "I'll be here waiting for you to come back, okay?"

"Don't worry, mom. I will be back before you know it."

Sally pulled away and went to hug me too, "Please take care of him, Annabeth."

I smiled back, "Percy had always been protecting me, that's why I promise to protect him too."

She pulled away and took a few steps back from the raised platform, "Take care of each other. I won't allow even one of you to come back hurt, okay?"

Piper walked up to our little group hug, "I'll take care of them, Sally. We all will, right Thalia-a? Wait, where did she go?"

Percy pointed to the side of the roof protected by a well-rounded glass railing, an orange hue reflected by the setting sun made the open roof feel warm instead of breezy.

"She said she had something important to talk about with Illya." Percy replied, "I wonder what they are talking about?"

I glanced over too. What could it be indeed? Judging by Thalia's reaction, the name Emilia Conwy must have meant something, perhaps something in her past. Did they know each other? Thalia certainly wasn't aware of Illya's real name until Aphrodite brought it up.

Just who is Illya? And why did my mom suddenly decide to bring her in with us?

"We should go," I passed a look at the roof access where we climbed up from a spiral stairwell. Thalia with her blue electric eyes and Illya with her snow-white hair were in a hush conversation behind the building. I couldn't see Illya from the back, but one thing was for certain: Thalia was riddled with guilt.

"Hey! We should go!" Percy waved our friends over as he shared one final look with Sally, "Well, be back in a bit, mom. Love you."

"I love you too. Bring Athena and Jason back safe and sound, okay? We'll be waiting…"

Thalia and Illya soon came back and followed us up the stairs to a hexagon platform. It was a helipad, and in the middle sat a fancy helicopter with more than enough room for a small party. Standing beside the cockpit window were Aphrodite and Rachel. For some reason, the auburn hair girl looked a bit uncomfortable waiting for us, her arms crossed over her chest while biting her lips.

"Rachel, you okay? You seem really nervous." Percy asked, "Are you worried?"

"Oh!" She immediately straightened up and brushed her hair, "No worries Percy. I am just—"

"… just—?"

Rachel relented with a sigh, "I don't know… maybe I wasn't expecting to meet your mother under these circumstances."

Percy blinked a few times.

"Hey! Don't get any ideas about my boyfriend, okay?" I glared.

Rachel threw her hands up, "But yeah, I am a little bit worried about it. I mean, I have never been in a fight before, and you all look like you are dressed for war or something like that."

"It will be fine, Rachel." Thalia spoke, "Just stay behind us and we'll protect you."

Maybe it was because of Thalia's commanding presence, but that seemed to assuage Rachel's fear quite a bit. She let out a composed sigh and nodded.

Meanwhile, the Goddess looked to be inspecting the controls and the engines before we would take it for a short-distance flight toward the other side of the river.

"I don't know if I could be surprised by how well-off you live anymore, wise girl."

I smacked that dumb look off his face and walked toward the unfamiliar Goddess who suddenly became our ally, "Can you fly it?"

Aphrodite pulled her curious gaze away, "Sadly, this technology is somewhat beyond me, though I could try to—"

"Yeah, no thank you." Thalia cut in quickly, "Besides, we already have a pilot."

"Huh?" Aphrodite and I exclaimed, "You can fly a helicopter?"

"Not me, dumbasses!" Just then, Owlfred appeared next to her, "We have Owlfred, and this helicopter wasn't meant to be flown by a human pilot anyway."

That made a whole lot of sense. Owlfred could operate our sporty limo with no problem whatsoever, it wouldn't be farfetched to say he could control our helicopter too. Still, I was shocked by the reveal, and no, it had nothing to do with Owlfred being able to fly the helicopter, but because I never knew we owned a helicopter to begin with!

This was my first time actually seeing it in person, and also the first time I found out we have a helipad roof on our penthouse mansion.

As terrifying as it was to learn about these secrets my godly mother kept from me, I was more terrified of actually flying on one. Shivers ran down my spine as the memory of my first and last flight coerced by my best friend jotted in my head.

"At least it's much better than riding on Blackjack, right wise girl?"

Percy read my mind. Just for that, I reached out and touch his fingers for good luck and reassurance.

"Anyway, we should go. We are losing time." Piper gestured at Owlfred before the AI phrased through solid metal and took control in the cockpit. The turbine engine rumbled to life as the bay doors slid open.

Despite her calmness, I could tell Piper was the most agitated out of everyone else. After all, she had to save the person most important to her, just like I had to save my mother from Amk before they could get the drop on her and something bad happened.

"Be careful and watch your head," Owlfred said loudly, the propeller slowly picked up speed and spun rapidly, a minor downwash created beneath our feet.

Everyone climbed in one by one. Of course, Percy and I took the most precaution because we've never ridden a helicopter before. The fear of being decapitated by the blades wasn't something we take for granted.

"P-Peww…" Heavy breaths escaped us at the same time we settled on the cushioned leather seats, and even with all of us, the posh interior was big enough to fit at least ten more people at any given time.

Just like the rest of my mother's possessions, this helicopter was not spared from our wealth and our lavish lifestyle status as a family. It was all thanks to her renowned architectural company that we were able to live more than comfortably, though I didn't doubt she cheated on some aspect of giving us this luxury as well… Namely, her divinity of being a former Goddess of Olympus.

I couldn't help but smile at that fact.

"Alright, I am taking off now for Rachel's mansion. We'll be there in less than ten minutes."

Everyone nodded and prepared themselves.

Thalia took care to sharpen her blades. Piper worked through the inventory in her bracelet. Illya was busy working on a piece of armor around her shoulders. Rachel sat quietly, her eyes looking out the windows and seemingly admiring the view.

Meanwhile, Percy and I were left on our own accord, and unlike our friends, we were already prepared for battle since Aphrodite revealed the truth about the Goddess who betrayed us. Instead of wearing full body armor to protect us, this time we forego the rest and only wore a light chest guard over our school uniforms. It was a lesson learned from battling the Nemean Lion: the extra weight really slowed down our movements, enough to make a difference.

"You know what, I hated that we couldn't use the temporal gates like before. It would have been much faster than riding a helicopter." A complaint left my lips.

"Well, you've got your mother to blame for that." Aphrodite tilted her head at me, "Besides, I can't say I don't agree with her one hundred percent. This will be dangerous."

No one mustered a reply, not until Thalia flicked her wrist and the weapon decompressed into digital polygons, data streaming back into her bracelet.

"Well, I am not going to leave my brother's fate at the hands of Amk, so if anyone gets in my way, I'll cut them down."

Her unshakeable confidence put me in awe. I wished I could say the same thing when it came to rescuing my mother. However, it was a pipe dream, I was never going to be as strong as Thalia, so saying something like that just felt out of place for me.

"Saving both of them is the priority, not just Jason," Piper said, though her voice soften a bit when she said the Son of Zeus's name.

I could tell Piper was antsy. Clearly, there were still some feelings between them left unsolved. She might be the daughter of Aphrodite who consulted the relationships of others, but sadly, she couldn't fix her own. I just hoped she could find a way to say the important things clearly and cleanly when we saved him, both Jason and Athena together.

"That's what I meant!" Thalia shouted a bit, "I am going to rescue both of them…"

But she trailed off.

Piper didn't seem to disagree with her anymore. I stayed silent, the uncomfortable mood ate away at me like a plague, I was helpless against my own selfish wish. It wasn't fair for me to expect anything different, yet I twisted my fingers together and twirl them around.

It only stopped when I felt Percy's soft hand clasped my own. I glanced over, he had a smile on his face as if knowing exactly how I felt, a small glint in his green eyes filled me with reassurance.

I breathed out, my left hand now being held as he brought us closer. I leaned right into him and felt a smile draw across my lips.

But out of nowhere…

"Annabeth? Aren't you worried too? About your mother?" Rachel sat beside me, she glanced over after spending the last five minutes looking out the window.

Everyone had their eyes turned toward us, and of course, the Goddess of love was no exception.

"Aww… you two are so cute." Amusement visibly dripped from her flawless features, "Oh look! You are holding hands too! Eeekkk! I am going to die from cuteness overload with any more of you two!"

Is she really the Goddess of love?

As far as my first impression went, I expected nothing less. Her reaction was even more dramatic than Piper's. It was kind of weird too. You would think a divine being having lived for millennia would look more mature. Instead, Lady Aphrodite looked more like a regular teenage girl. It's almost like looking at a mirror. You wouldn't have guessed she was a Goddess at first glance. Apart from her immaculate appearance and the way she held a refined image of herself, she would fit right into my school with no problem whatsoever.

A subtle sigh of despair left me.

"Of course I am worried." I wrestled Percy's hand away, even though secretly I do want to hold him, it's just the gleaming smiles across us— it left me shivering.

"She might be a Goddess, but even she has a limit." I managed to say.

"Yeah…" Seaweed brain leaned into his seat, "I am worried about Athena and Jason too, and who knows what's happening to them right now? Besides—"

Percy released a silver ornate sword to his right hand, it had a beautiful crossed wing-shaped guard above the hilt. He tilted it and gazed into the blade's reflection.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

Prior to our rescue mission, Percy acquired this sword from the armory held in a different dimension of our penthouse. It was a large treasury filled with all kinds of armor and weapons, more than enough to start or end a war.

Before we left, Thalia told us to choose a better weapon that would fit us, and the way Percy drifted toward his, I felt like it was calling for him because that's the first one he picked out of the thousands in the room. It was a little different for me. I didn't know where to even look, and in the end, I picked up a celestial bronze short sword with a flowery guard above the hilt.

I stared at my seaweed brain in contemplation, "Anyway, we don't know how many of our enemies will be waiting for us, so I want to be prepared just in case we took on too much for us to handle."

He returned my gaze, "Plus, I want to protect everyone close to me."

Somewhere and somehow, I found it impossible to pull away from his emerald eyes, as if all of a sudden I was put under a hypotonic spell of self-consciousness. From deep inside his gaze, there was an intensity that was unmatched by anything I've felt before.

"W…Why are you looking at me like t-that, seaweed brain?"

I was beyond flustered at his display of affection. Thankfully, he caught his senses and pull away awkwardly, but by that point, it was a bit too late.

"Oh don't be so shy, Percy. We all know you want to protect Annabeth the most. Plus, it's not like we can't defend ourselves. Right girls?"

They all nodded with arch eyebrows and sly smiles.

Immediately following their tease, an uneasy laugh left Percy and he quickly look down at the floor. All I could do was stared at him with despair. Why was he always such a seaweed brain? That's a question I'll never figure out in a million years.

In the end, I could only shake my head and sighed with mocking sadness.

"We are here, you guys!"

Through the intercom, Owlfred announced, "We've leveled at fifteen thousand feet above Rachel's mansion. The sky is clear. You all ready?"

"Ready? What are you—"

"Yep! Open the bay doors, Owlfred!"

To see Thalia getting up from her seat, I almost screamed, "Wait! Wait just a gosh darn minute! What do you think you are—"

Like cabin depressurization of a spacecraft, a hissing sound blew outward as the port-side bay doors slid open. Gust wind of at least a hundred miles per hour rattled every corner of the interior cabin.

"No, you are not serious…"

Thalia grinned back and walked to the edge. I looked at the other for help, specifically the Goddess of love. Despite the strong wind, her flawless appearance defied every known law of physics and she looked just as gorgeous as before. She smiled knowingly at me.

"Well, it's been fun meeting and chatting with you all. I wish you good luck." Aphrodite said cheerfully and seemed unbothered by our friend's deranged pranks. After all, it had to be a prank.

"And I really hope you'll save my best friend and get Athena back from her suicide mission."

"You are not coming?!"

Percy and I were taken back.

"That's never been the plan, son of Poseidon. I've to get back to Olympus as soon as possible before Zeus gets suspicious of my absence. This is always a mission you'll have to accomplish alone."

Then she flashed us a smile and snapped her fingers, "Be seeing you."

Aphrodite faded into particles of light as she disappeared into thin air. It left us shell-shocked, but still, not as shocked as what Thalia, Piper, and Illya were trying to do next.

"Are you crazy?!" Thalia practically had to drag me over because I kept crawling back to the safety of my seat, "Hey! I am talking to you! We don't have parachutes!"

When I saw her smile, I realized she had gone insane.

"We don't need parachutes, princess."

"Huh?! Don't be crazy! You'll— We'll all die if we jump!"

"Yeah, I completely agreed…" I saw Percy beside me while Piper and Illya held him in place like they were going to chuck him out the side of the helicopter, "This is insane!"

But it seemed common sense had all but left our friends because they ignored us.

"Ready?"

"We are ready, Lady Thalia."

"Okay then," There was an unbelievable sadistic grin on her lips, it was as if she was fully enjoying our suicide attempt, or rather, it wasn't so much an attempt because our demise was all too certain.

"Three,"

"Hey! Don't do this, Thals! I swear to God! I'm going to—" Word became meaningless, and as I struggled desperately, I even thought about punching my way out of her grasp and escaped back to the safety of the inner cabin.

It was pointless. Her grip around me was like sticky glue.

"Two,"

"Yep, we are going to die…" Percy whispered.

"One!"

"I swear to God! Thalia! You better have a plan-nn…"

Words left my head. All of a sudden, the solid ground I'd been taking for granted was gone. After a moment of weightlessness, I realized it was too late because Thalia had thrown me out of the helicopter with a heavy heave-ho!

"Eeeeeekkkk!"

Shrieking at the top of my lungs, I began to plummet toward the earth. Then a second scream joined me. It seemed Piper and Illya did the same thing to Percy because he was now freefalling beside me.

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

As we held onto each other for our dear lives, I heard faint laughers from above.

If I ever see you three again, I'll kill you!