DISCLAIMER: All the characters except the OC's, belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter 19: I nearly lose a friend at a National Landmark.
Things didn't go the way Annabeth had intended them, at all.
Even after laying down all her arguments to work together, she wasn't able to make Percy believe her. She bit her lips, determined not to let him see how much his indifference stung.
When Argus had left them in the Greyhound station, the enormity of the situation strangely overwhelmed her. To add to her nervousness, it had started raining right after they boarded the bus and stowed their luggage, which was not a reassuring sign from the gods.
When the bus entered a bay at the next station, Annabeth couldn't stop her nervousness which made her a lot more fidgety inside a roving bus. She glanced outside the window and her blood turned cold. Monsters. She was sure of that. A trio disguised as old ladies in outlandish clothes. She realized their identities as soon as they boarded their bus. The Furies had come after Thalia five years ago, intent on punishing her for existing outside the oath. She didn't believe they would view Percy any differently.
Annabeth forced herself to stay calm. There had to be a way. All her immediate ideas lead to dead ends. She swiveled around in her seat, cursing herself for not thinking of it sooner. She should have planned this all out before and made an escape plan before boarding the bus. Now they were stuck on a running bus with three demon crones blocking the door.
Think, Annabeth, think!
Darkness flooded the bus suddenly and Annabeth nearly screamed, thinking it was the Furies. Something clamped her mouth; only later did she realize it was Percy and they'd only plunged into a tunnel. His powerful heartbeat thundered her ears, his aqua-fresh aftershave smell assaulting her nose. His faint breath became her only source of sound in the dark and eerily quiet interior.
She saw one of the Furies rise in the dim internal lighting. Annabeth's fingers tightened around her Yankees cap. Her invisibility cap. A plan fell into place in her mind. Her heart pounded furiously against her chest. She knew what the plan had to be.
So she suggested Percy take her cap and escape from them. She tried not to think what the Furies might do to her and felt her dagger up her sleeve, its weight reassuring her.
"No, I'm not leaving you behind," he told her. Later she would appreciate his display of loyalty, but at the moment, she just wanted to throttle and toss him out of the bus. He was the biggest target among them. If the Furies got to him, she didn't think he'd be lucky enough to get the tree treatment like Thalia, with Poseidon still under the charge of oath-break.
Then she felt a momentary confusion when Percy proposed for Piper's escape using her cap. The way they had mentioned the other things, she didn't feel so bad being out of the loop. They were clearly the references she wasn't meant to understand. But now Percy was including her in the distraction and diversion, using the same unknown terms as before, yet still expecting her to agree. Though she wanted to voice an objection to his plan, questioning at the moment might be counter-productive.
It got nothing to do with her if he wanted to save his girlfriend so badly. Piper slipped past everyone to the entrance while the Furies descended on them. Annabeth brandished her dagger, preparing for the fight ahead. It was time to see if she could do this, after all.
The three old ladies had shed their disguises by the time they surrounded them, becoming three shriveled bat-demons with fiery whips. The one in the lead sniffed at Percy and growled, her red eyes glinting with hatred.
"Where is it?" she demanded. Something about her question stuck with her as odd, but Annabeth wasn't in the mood to analyze when she was this close to getting sliced up.
The next few moments were a cacophony of screaming mortals, blaring alarms, and the swaying bus. She drove her dagger to a headrest for purchase and prayed to her mother for help. By the time the bus lurched to an abrupt stop, the aisle was empty, save for three scrambling demon ladies advancing on two disoriented demigods.
Somehow, Percy found the wits to taunt the Fury in the lead, and Annabeth was once again stuck between exasperation at his irreverence and an urge to laugh at his goofiness. Between the time Percy brandished a sword to Piper calling names at the Furies, one of them disintegrated into Tartarus dust. The remaining two tensed to deal with three armed demigods, their whips whirled furiously around them.
Annabeth swung her dagger at the Fury perched on a headrest. The latter's whip blazed through the air, crackling inches away from her face. Her weapon was too short for landing a blow, unlike Percy's sword or Piper's bow. If only she could avoid the whip, sinking her blade into the demon crone wouldn't be too big of a problem.
As if her mother had heard her prayers and granted an amnesty, the Fury lunged at her. Something whizzed past her ear—a dagger. The Fury curled her whip around the dagger and flung it aside. But the action brought her much closer to Annabeth, who pounced on her back, bringing them down. She had the Fury in a choke-hold but could barely hold on with the demon-bat bucking so hard. Her wings batted at Annabeth. She let go of her neck and pulled at her hair for purchase before stabbing her in the back. Another one down, one to go.
She snatched the whip, but almost dropped it immediately. The whip felt like burning charcoal in her hands. She swung it at the last incoming Fury, entangling her legs in it. The last one screamed and cursed an ugly fate for Percy, taking things personally. Thunder rumbled at her promise. Annabeth's heart leaped into her throat.
"Run!" Neither Percy nor her put up an argument to Piper's call. She winced when he pulled her scorched hand, despite her protests to tag their luggage. It was too late, though. They hid behind a crashed car as the bus was soon engulfed in flames with a screeching Fury inside. Pain flared up her side, razor-sharp glass shards decorated her right arm and ribs.
Injuries and deaths were par for the course, being a half-blood, born to fight the evil creatures, but this was too messed up. They hadn't covered much distance either. It was only the beginning of their quest. She winced as Percy pulled her into the woods with a heavy downpour and darkness ahead.
The trio didn't stop until they were miles away. Annabeth slowed down first, panting. The adrenaline that had raged through her veins disappeared like the New Jersey city lights behind them. The pain made her dizzy and cold, which had nothing to do with the heavy rain. They were out of healing supplies too; ambrosia and nectar were left behind in the burning bus.
So it came as a surprise to Annabeth that Percy was capable of healing her. Streams of water glided over her arms and covered her injuries, filling her with a cool sensation. It was the same during Percy's claiming; her injuries healed faster than ambrosia and nectar. The only person she knew—had known—with powers to rival these was Thalia. She'd been able to call down lightning on occasion. But Percy's skill was too heaven-defying.
A flame of hope surged up over her earlier disappointment. They can do this. They can finish this quest and deliver Zeus' master Bolt before the Solstice deadline. Her admiration for him went up a notch.
Of course, being Percy, he then undid it by prodding her forehead with his finger. At that distance, she saw his long eyelashes and the blue specks intermingled in his sea-green eyes. They were like waves pulling her in. Watching his mirthful eyes brought forth a wave of conflicting thoughts; she wanted to get a little closer to count his lashes and push him away for teasing her at the same time.
A rare lopsided smile adorned his face, a dimple on his left cheek winking at her. His smile made him look like an innocent boy from next door. A jolt of electricity tingled from her forehead to her spine, making her face heat up, enough to resist the cold from the downpour.
They trudged downhill in the dark, away from the city. She fell in line with him, slowly bridging the gap between them. Her heart, already bursting with anticipated excitement, did a flip-flop when their arms brushed in the dark. She told herself it probably didn't mean anything. When Percy asked if she'd ever left camp she felt giddy. He had finally shown some curiosity about her.
"No...only short field trips. It didn't work out for me living at home." she felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't thought to let her dad know she was going on a quest. When she thought about saying goodbye, she had only thought about Luke—who'd been away from camp—and her cabinmates. She pushed the guilt aside.
"At camp, you train and train. That's cool and everything, but the real world is where monsters roam around. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not." Now that she was here again, with one chance to see if she could take on the real world, she wasn't so sure anymore.
Of course, you don't, do you? A little voice inside her head sneered at her in derision. She didn't stop the Hellhounds at camp, she couldn't handle a Fury alone. You've failed... just like you failed Thalia.
So when Percy asked if she'd found her answers, she honestly replied with a 'NO'. It wasn't enough. Admittedly, she wasn't looking forward to another adventure so soon either. "...but it had been my dream to travel the world; to see the great monuments described in books." With a pang, she remembered her architecture book—her dad's last guilt gift—incinerated with the rest of her things.
After walking for a while, Annabeth decided the first thing they needed when they found civilization was a good map. All they had were her knife, Percy's pen/sword, and Piper's bow and flying shoes. None of them provided any GPS. Twenty minutes later, she changed her mind; she realized how hungry she was after the Fury fighting and running.
That was why she had blinded followed the incongruously heavenly smell to the deserted roadside shop. But once Percy filled her in, she wanted to smack herself. She was tired, hungry, and sounded whiny—even to herself—but she didn't care. She wanted something to eat and a place to rest. So she followed the duo into the emporium, despite feeling doubtful at first.
They entered the shop, past the rows of garden statues, which Piper kept shrinking from. Annabeth couldn't see what her issue was. She wasn't a fan of stone statues, but Percy had said the shop sold garden gnomes. What did she expect, marble figurines?
When the lady that answered the door asked them, her voice full of gentle concern, Annabeth was almost tempted to tell the truth. Of course, they couldn't tell her that, fully knowing she was a monster. She was about to make a believable cover story, like running away from abusive parents, but Percy jumped in first, spinning an incredulous story of a break-down car with parents and all.
She wanted to slap him around the head, but that would blow their cover. The lady believed his story and ushered them in with an offer of free food. Annabeth took an intoxicating whiff; something really good was cooking inside.
"Thank you, ma'am," she said gratefully.
"Quite all right, dear," Aunty Em's voice seemed a bit stiff, but she followed up, much more warmly, "You have such beautiful grey eyes, child."
The ones who complimented her eyes had actually known her divine descent. A sudden wary thought broke through her sluggish mind, that maybe the Aunty Em knew she was a daughter of a deity. Her alertness returned. She couldn't see what was wrong with the place, but she began to have that prickly sensation of something supernatural. Later, she would come to know that as instincts of danger.
Annabeth perked her ears as Percy started up a conversation with Aunty Em as they walked. Strangely enough, she answered his questions with a satisfied expression that made her wonder whether he knew her from before or something. Piper looked at Aunty Em oddly, perhaps trying to discern her identity.
When she heard Aunty Em had two sisters, something in her statement tugged in Annabeth's brain, trying to remember any ancient myths about them. "Two sisters?" she asked hesitantly. Three was a special number. A lot of things in the mythological world came in three; three questers, three Fates, three Furies, three sons and daughters of Kronos, three sisters...
Aunty Em shook her head and continued her tale. "You see, Annabeth," the way she said her name, slowly and delicately, sent chills down her spine. Her story struck a chord with her, and not in a good way. She tried to remember any myths involving three sisters and statues, fighting the hazy feeling enveloping her.
"Come on, children." Aunty Em ushered them to the picnic table, filled with a maddening burger smell. "It's been a long time since I had guests. Won't you accompany me, dears?" The funny thing was, even as alarms blared inside her head, a small corner of her brain speaking with the same beguiling tone stalled her from running away. The scales of her indecision tipped in Aunty Em's favor and she hurried towards the table.
The picnic table was surrounded by another group of life-like statues. The details were so intricate, that the artistry rivaled the real-life perfection. Their eyes followed her intently with their frozen expression of terror, and she could imagine them trying to tell her something.
As her eyes stayed on one, images poured into her mind, breaking Aunty Em's beguiling spell: all kinds of people, lured to the warehouse, smiling numbly until a pair of brilliant eyes cast a petrifying beam straight at them. Their expression giving way to sheer terror and panic when they realized—too late—that the pitiful Aunty Em was in fact the gorgon Medusa.
There was no time for plans or strategy. Annabeth simply reacted and screamed, hoping for Percy to do something.
"Look away from her!" Percy, bless his soul, threw a steel chair at the monster and the trio bolted out of the warehouse. Piper took to the sky with the flying shoes. Annabeth put on her invisible cap and dived behind a statue, keeping her eyes on the ground. Percy was nowhere to be seen.
Medusa hissed and blasted the statue to bits on her way out. Annabeth thought it was her hair—actually—since they were meant to be serpents, from her curse, but she didn't look up to check. She didn't dare to look beyond her feet, shrunk into scaly bronze talons. Could Medusa make invisible statues? It wasn't a theory Annabeth cared to test.
She could hear her talking to Percy with that same beguiling voice, dripping with the alluring inconsistency of honey. She turned the tale around in her favor and blamed Annabeth's mother for her misfortune. In contrast to her monstrous appearance, Medusa's voice was inviting and she spoke soothingly, like one might coerce a frightened animal.
"Don't listen to her, Percy. Run!" she begged, wherever he was to turn deaf ear to Medusa's pitiful story. A moment later, a sharp claw swung behind her, turning the statue to dust.
"Gotcha!" Medusa screeched and lunged at her. It was so fast that Annabeth wasn't expecting an attack on her since she was invisible.
Medusa must've sensed her somehow; one of her claws slashed across her neck faintly. Annabeth yelped in surprise. Blood gushed from the cut. She didn't know how bad it was, but clamped a hand over it and stumbled back.
The story came flooding back to her with Medusa's remainder. Medusa, seduced by Poseidon in Athena's virgin temple, cursed with snakes for hair and a petrifying gaze. This monster was her mortal enemy. She frighteningly remembered the way Medusa had focused right on her, singled her out by name, and honed in on her eyes. She'd known from the start.
She clamped her mouth and hid behind a fairly large statue, fear pulsing through her veins. She wanted to run out of there as fast as her legs could carry. But Percy and Piper were still fighting the gorgon. They hadn't abandoned her to the Furies; she wasn't going to leave them to become statues either. One look around the statuary was enough proof that they couldn't leave Medusa to lure more people to their doom.
The only thing was, she didn't have a plan of attack. Medusa's original conqueror, the hero Perseus, had slain her with a sword. All she had was her knife. Sword...
"Annabeth!" she heard Percy's faint hiss and staggered towards his direction. She took off her cap so that he could see her. His pupils dilated, taking in her appearance. Annabeth hoped it wasn't too bad for her to treat it later. "You have to cut off her head!" Now that wasn't alone and far from Medusa, she felt a little calmer and gathered her thoughts.
Percy looked at her as though she'd spouted snakes on her head. Piper kept the gorgon busy—probably using her senses as a guide—but it wouldn't work for long. Percy had the sword but he couldn't just face her and swing blindly. She looked around, trying to find anything that might help him get near enough to aim.
She zeroed in on the half-meter diameter garden yard globe and grabbed it. She remembered how Perseus in the legend had used a shield to get close to Medusa. Annabeth calculated the irregularity of the warped image in the reflection and passed the globe to Percy after a snappish remark.
"...Never look at her directly," she added for caution.
Percy incredulously remarked he can't get close to the gorgon. "She'll tear me to bits."
"No, she won't. Trust me on this." Medusa had already shown a soft spot for him as the son of Poseidon. And he was better equipped for it than her. He agreed and followed the hissing and battle noises. Annabeth donned her cap and ran among the statues, her eyes downcast, listening intently. She heard Piper plead with Percy to not listen to Medusa's persuasion. Just as she predicted, Medusa didn't strike him. She murmured enticingly and spoke with the same syrupy tone that shook her legs.
"Stay focused," she muttered to herself. "Come on, Percy."
A triumphant cackle, followed by a splash of water echoed in the clearing. Then the familiar swish from Percy's sword, backed by a sickening squelch. A low gurgling noise followed, like a bubbling pot.
"Percy," A thwack followed Piper's high-pitched inched closer towards the sounds. Something big lay at Percy's feet, trailing lime-green sludge. She looked away quickly, realizing what it was.
Piper and Percy were huddled together in the clearing, disregarding Medusa's head and the rotten smell. A small twinge of annoyance crept up her as they nestled closely together, leaving her to clean up after them. Piper trembled and clutched his pullover tightly, trying to mend their bodies together. Percy patted her back, whispering encouraging words.
Annabeth fought down the twinge of jealously and nearly stamped her foot in frustration. She felt unusually emotional and swallowed the urge to cry and scream at once. She deftly went back into the warehouse and snatched up the discarded veil to cover the head. The bubbling trickle of monster blood across the ground was enough to make her puke; sadly there wasn't much for her vomit. It smelt terrible too, like rotten slugs.
The last thing she wanted to do was go near it, but the lovebirds were too busy in their la-la land; they couldn't leave the head there. Annabeth flung the veil on the head, still looking up so she wouldn't accidentally see it. Finally, once it was safely contained by several layers of black silk, she picked it up. A sticky, green goo dripped out of the fabric.
"Yuck!" she choked out. Percy and Piper decided to disentangle themselves and looked grossed out at the package. She fought down the urge to pitch the head at them.
They brought the head back to the dining area inside the building and plopped it on a table. She found a bunch of plastic grocery bags behind the food counter and added another layer on the head. Looking at the head, she didn't feel hungry anymore; she wondered if she'd been hungry or if that'd been Medusa's magic. Piper slumped into a chair disconsolately while Percy went behind the counter. She didn't want to intrude on them and be a giant third wheel, but she was in a pinch and required help immediately.
When she approached the table, Percy asked behind the counter, "What do you want to eat, Annabeth?" She wondered whether he was going to cook for them. Piper ordered a double cheeseburger and a large assortment of fries. They both turned towards her.
"Anything works for me," her stomach growled, making Annabeth look away in embarrassment. Percy just laughed, folded his sleeves, and cracked his knuckles like a real expert. "Comin' right up, mademoiselle."
Piper offered a couple of camp t-shirts, and a regular medical kit to her and pointed to her injury. "You should...get that cleaned up."
For some unknown reasons, Medusa's warehouse had a clean—as clean as you can get in an abandoned warehouse—restroom. Not that Annabeth was complaining. She changed her blood-soaked t-shirt and cleaned her injury with mortal supplies. Now that both of her immediate problems had been resolved, she felt a lot more relaxed and returned to the table. Percy had cooked up a storm. The table was filled with cheeseburgers, French fries, chips... all sorts of things you'd get at a normal fast-food joint.
She exchanged a glance with the two and dove in with relish. He brought a bowl of chips from the nacho cheese dispenser and filled large paper cups with soda and milkshakes. Suddenly it was good, sitting at the table with the two, sharing greasy food, surrounded by statues, her previous grievances disappeared into thin air.
The trio slumped into the couches in the backyard, beside Medusa's office. She felt sleepy and satisfied with a full stomach. Of course, knowing Percy, he undid her pleasant mood with an idiotic remark. He glanced at the spoil of war on the table, "Your mom made one Hades of a monster." he said offhandedly.
Annabeth felt irritated and flashed a glare at him. Just like a son of Poseidon to blame everything on her mother. "Your dad, actually," she lashed out. "Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend." she reminded him of the full story: how Poseidon and Medusa had gotten caught in the act in Athena's temple and she had retaliated by turning the three sisters into gorgons.
"Oh," Percy hung his head a little. "I didn't mean to blame her or anything." he wouldn't meet her eyes and Annabeth felt a little guilty. None of it had been his fault. Okay, the idea to raid the warehouse had been his, but still...he did everything to save their hides.
"But why didn't she try to kill me from the beginning? She didn't have problems trying to tear you two apart." he mused. Annabeth wanted to smack his head. She wondered if he was intentionally acting stupid to get a rise out of her. How can he be oblivious to Medusa's hesitance?
"You're such a Seaweed Brain," she felt emotionally high-strung and blamed the monsters chasing them to make her speak like that. Percy gawked at her—no doubt, surprised about the—choice of nickname. "Don't you get it? Medusa wanted to preserve your statue, as a remainder of Poseidon. She must still be sweet on your dad."
Percy looked queasy at the prospect of a monster still longing for his father. "What—" he started but Piper made a time-out sign and interrupted them. "Okay, time to raid the place." she stood up. The other two followed her reluctantly.
Fifteen minutes later, they converged in the backyard. Annabeth dropped some transaction bills on the table. "I searched her office and found her account book. It had six recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld. According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA recording studios, West Hollywood, California." she pointed at the address on the transaction bill.
"I searched through her cash register and found up to fifty dollars cash, a few golden drachmas, and Medusa's credit card. Luckily us. This solved our immediate money problem. We just need to find our ride." Piper dropped the dollar notes, drachmas, and a green plastic card on the table.
Percy placed a dozen package slips on the table. "I found a few package slips of Hermes Overnight Express and this." he carefully placed a small bottle on the table. "See if it helps." he slightly pushed the canteen towards her. It was nectar. Out of the three, Annabeth had been the most injury-prone, not something worth bragging about.
"Great, let's rest up here for the night. We'll work on our transportation tomorrow." Percy said and went off to who knows where.
Annabeth remembered a computer back in Medusa's office and went to search for something useful. She figured they'd only covered about twenty miles west, that left them with another nine days to cover, what, a thousand? It had been a long day, though, fighting monsters one after another and she doubted they'd get much further without rest.
They could probably hitchhike a ride along the road they came, but that probably wasn't the safest thing to do even as mortals. Plus, Annabeth wasn't keen on being inside a bus with strangers again. After browsing the internet, she found a few solutions to their ride and chose the least dangerous one.
Now that she had a plan, she felt a lot more cheerful. She stepped out of the office and watched Piper lazily roaming the warehouse, glancing at the pictures hung on the walls occasionally. The picture was of a tall handsome man with a trimmed black beard and deep green eyes. The man in the picture resembled Percy in a lot of ways. Annabeth suddenly gasped; she realized the man—err, god—in the picture was Poseidon. No wonder Medusa had been hung upon him.
"He's hot, isn't he?" Annabeth nearly jumped and turned around. Piper had silently appeared behind her at one point.
"Uh...I guess," she offered. Annabeth didn't know if commenting on the looks of her mother's rival would endear her to Athena.
"In a few years, Percy would mostly turn out like him." She didn't know why Piper kept telling her about her boyfriend's perks either. It doesn't sound like she was boasting about his pedigree. But she had to agree with that opinion; if Percy could maintain his mysterious air to him, many girls from the camp would be head over heels for him. Not that it mattered to her.
She observed Piper for a moment. During her investigation at camp, she'd talked to the brunette a few times, and they'd stuck up a general friendship over time. Though she can't say they'd a lot in common, there were a few. To begin with, both of them are independent and tough.
The Aphrodite residents at camp are—loosely—termed as cheerleaders and belonged to popular cliques you'd find at schools. Their conversations generally involved gossiping about fashion and romance and checking their hairdo and makeup. They were the camp's unofficial matchmakers. No one took them seriously, unless for relationship advice—which most tend to be better without them—and fashion tips.
But Piper proved to be a lot more than the simple, shallow girls back at camp. She had the chance to escape to safety, but she hadn't. With her pure skill in the bus while taking out the Fury and her contribution in taking down Medusa, Annabeth remembered she owed the brunette a thank you.
"Piper, look.." Annabeth swallowed. The words were hard to get out. "Thank you. For everything. You've been a great help on the bus and now. That was really brave."
Piper looked at her. It was a little dark but she could it was her bemused look, the one she gave her whenever she didn't understand something during her lesson. "We're a team, right?"
The simple way she acknowledged took Annabeth's breath away. It reminded her of being with Thalia and Luke, many years ago. Family. Except they had left Thalia on Half-Blood hill and then Luke had left her behind two years ago on his quest. She didn't know if she was still his family anymore. She felt like crying but didn't want to, not in front of Piper.
"Where's your bow?" she said instead.
Piper pulled out a heart-shaped locket from her bronze chain. It sprung into a sleek bow. The design and the artistry were a work of art that Hephaestus campers would die for. Annabeth took the bow for a close inspection. It was light, durable, and looked worn out from regular usage but a destructive power radiated from the weapon.
"What's it made from?" The material intrigued her; it was not Celestial bronze but some volatile material.
"Imperial gold. It's a little rarer than Celestial bronze, but mined similarly from Mt. Olympus."
"Is this similar to Percy's pen sword? Where exactly did you get these?"
"Our godly parents. Percy got his sword on his twelfth birthday. My mom made her husband make this for me."
Just like my invisibility cap.
They'd shared their pasts at the camp during their first week. She'd almost confirmed Percy was chosen to find the stolen item and stuck a friendship with Piper before, but they quickly fell in line with each other. But she doesn't know the full story; only bits and pieces with vague details.
Annabeth understood that notion. She too didn't talk about her family with anyone, not even Luke (who knew enough not to ask). She hadn't started sharing details about her absent father and stepfamily who preferred her gone. Some things were private. But she decided Piper had earned the right to know. She'd proven she could be sensitive about this stuff.
"Piper, what's your story? I know nothing about you," she asked instead. The latter nodded and launched into her story; how she'd had the same backstory as any normal demigod till she was eight. How she'd gotten into trouble for her dad's attention, and how she'd met Percy and their journey together. How he'd shaped her into a strong outgoing girl.
Annabeth felt like Piper's story had been the same as her; dad's problem, untrustworthy family, reserved personality. But she felt jealous of the adventures, training, and monster hunting. All those things were worthy of quests, filled with glory and purpose.
"Cool your jets, Annabeth. There's no point in getting jealous over me." Piper joked. Annabeth felt her face heat up. It's a little unsettling how well Piper could read her. A sharp realization spiked all her other questions.
"Hold it, you're telling me you know I got jealous of you now. How?" Piper wouldn't meet her eyes. So she grilled her for answers about her ability and Percy's powers.
"Okay, okay. Geez! You're persistent." she relented finally and took a breath.
"Emotional perception. I can gauge emotions directed at me." Piper watched her closely, her expression guarded. Annabeth wondered what could be sensing emotions directed at you make one so wary. "That's what I did with Medusa. Monster," she winced and shuddered lightly. "They're the ones you wouldn't want to get into their heads. Not a good place."
Annabeth briefly wondered about getting into the heads of ancient archetypes, who consider demigods as their primary prey. She felt a little bad about it. No wonder Piper had hyperventilated. She'd judged them as a clingy couple, previously, without her facts straight. If Piper had gotten into Medusa's head during the fight...it was obvious how much it'd affected her psyche. So she changed the topic.
"So, how long have you been together, then?" she asked. A daughter of Aphrodite must like these talks, right?
"Huh? Since we were eight. We've never gotten separated after that. We go to the same school, get expelled from the same school too." Piper looked at her blankly, like that was a given.
"That's not what I'm asking. How long have you been dating Percy?" To Annabeth's surprise, a deep magenta spread Piper's face, to the tip of her ears.
"Date Percy?" she asked foolishly. Then snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her in bewilderment. "Who said we were dating?"
"You're not!" It was Annabeth's turn to blush. "How? Why?" she squeaked. Why she felt embarrassed to ask such a question, she never knew.
Piper's earlier outburst melted like snow in summer, her kaleidoscopic eyes crinkled in amusement. "What do you mean, why and how? We simply are not. Don't tell me you like him?" Without waiting for her, she went on. "I don't see why not then? Percy wouldn't have any problem either." though her tone was still teasing, a faint blush spread on her face. Perhaps Piper was still relatively new to the whole dating thing.
"N-no, I mean...I didn't mean it like that. I don't like him. I...I mean the whole camp thought you were together because you did everything together. You even had matching jewelry. I—the whole camp—thought you were. So many guys had wanted to ask you out, if not." she rushed her words. Piper giggled at her rambling.
"So," she started, trying to change the topic again. "don't you think it's weird? The monsters seem to be, well, they seem to want something from us, besides killing us." she hurriedly added.
Piper stopped smirking. "What do you mean?"
"The Kindly Ones. They wanted something from Percy. And her," she gestured towards the warehouse kitchen, indicating the head, "she didn't attack him outright. It was like she was trying to sweet-talk him into... I dunno what, but it just doesn't add up." she carefully watched Piper's face, but it remained blank.
"I don't know about everything else, but Medusa," Piper started, "I don't think she did it just for Percy's dad. She'd wanted something from him."
Piper was right. Annabeth hadn't been able to dwell on it before, what with one fight after another, but she'd noticed it too. The Furies had tracked the bus but waited to approach them. She initially thought they hadn't noticed them, but they must've known the demigods were on the bus.
"The Furies weren't as aggressive as before..." she trailed off. She didn't have to elaborate since she'd told Piper about Thalia and their flight to the camp. They remained silent before making their way to the backyard to Percy.
He was sprawled on one of the couches, dead asleep. In the darkness, she saw something shiny dripping out of his mouth. The corner of her mouth curled up.
"No wonder," she shook her head. "This 'mouth like a river' technique seems to have passed down from his ancestors," she remarked.
Pfft!
Piper choked and controlled her laughter beside her. She approached him carefully and parted a few bangs covering his eyes. Then she sat next to his sleeping figure, brushing his hair fondly, a foolish smile on her face.
Watching her, Annabeth couldn't help but ask, "Do you like him?" It sounded stupid since it was written on Piper's face. So she wasn't surprised when received a "Yes."
"Why don't you tell him, then?" Considering they weren't together, Annabeth thought she was dancing with the thought. Piper glanced at her with a gentle smile.
"I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that. If you're together with someone for years, you really can't help but grow attached to them." Annabeth waited for her to continue, but she didn't. It was deep into the night and she was so exhausted that she didn't protest when Piper offered to take the first watch. She was asleep before her head hit the couch.
She dreamed of a woman in a dark room, filled with green fire braziers. The woman had a harried face and demonic eyes, as she kneeled before a throne, inlaid with diamonds and raised on a pedestal of black bones. A figure sat on the throne, his gloved hand holding a ball depicting the scenes of the three fighting the Furies in the bus. The owner of the gloved hand stared at the ball thoughtfully, a dark flame dangerously danced in his eyes.
"Alecto! You failed to retrieve it," he said. "Again."
Annabeth instantly recognized the woman standing before him. She wasn't an old lady actually, but back in her human disguise—Percy's friend, Mrs. Dodds—Alecto, the Fury. And she was reporting to her boss: the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. Annabeth might've felt sorry for the poor old lady, if not for her history with the Furies. Hades wasn't the sort of god you wanted to turn in a failed report to.
"I searched their things. It wasn't in there." She flicked he hand, and two duffel bags rolled out of nowhere on the floor. Annabeth immediately recognized her bag. Hades made a furious slash with his free hand. A dark energy arc blasted forward. The old lady—Fury—winced, but the arc flew past her to the nearby pillars. The fire in the brazier attached to the pillar spilled on one of the bags, effectively incinerating it.
"I will return immediately," Alecto added hastily.
"Forget it!" Hades said, his voice rich and imposing. "The boy is craftier than we expected. We shall wait and see what he can do first." Annabeth got a good look at the god. A glistening, sleek black robe, dark and shoulder-length hair with inky-black eyes, filled with captivating flames. Hades looked like a dark, twisted villain in what one might find in detective movies.
Hades turned his attention from his ball to her, his dark eyes glistening dangerously. Annabeth only had a moment to realize what happened before her vision turned dark.
When she woke up the next morning, Piper was nowhere to be found. Percy was still asleep, muttering under his breath. Annabeth guessed his dreams were about as restful as hers. She contemplated whether to tell the others about her dream during breakfast. The sun was high above the trees, but that didn't mean much in the middle of summer. It could just as well be five in the morning as nine.
She thought back to her dream. The whole conversation sounded like Hade doesn't have the Bolt. But why would he think Percy has it?
She glanced at Percy, happily munching on a toast. She shook her head. It was a stupid thought. If Percy had wanted to bargain with Hades, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so. He didn't have to fight the Minotaur, the Furies, and Medusa to save their lives. He could've handed it over to make a deal with Hades.
It was just that, they had no other leads, and the summer Solstice was in nine days. If Hades wasn't the thief, how would they ever find the real one? For now, they'd stick to their plan and head for L. A. She glanced to her left, tracing a faint railway track at the end of the woods downhill.
"What now?" Percy asked after their breakfast.
"There's an Amtrak station a half-mile away and the west-bound train leaves at noon. I've purchased tickets to L. A. We're good to go." she informed the duo. Soon, they boarded the train and started their journey west without any monster attacks.
Annabeth soon became entranced with the landmarks visible from the train. She hadn't had the chance to see the country before—sightseeing on the run wasn't an option—so she relished the chance. They passed through the hills of Maryland, the plains of Pennsylvania, and the wide farmlands of Ohio.
Two days of traveling was a long time, even for an architecture nut like Annabeth, and without something to focus her mind on, she felt agitated. She'd paced the train-length several time before occupying herself with newspapers but discarded them immediately after glancing at Percy's picture splashed on the front page, under the headlines 'DISTURBED TEEN SUSPECT IN A HIJACKED BUS IN NEW JERSEY. The caption read Percy being convicted for accosting several elderly female passengers and arson. The eyewitness accounted for two accomplices traveling with him.
Annabeth wondered what the reporters might think once they met the Furies. Anyway, she didn't think mortal police would catch them. She wanted to ask Percy's opinion about the matter and tell him about her dream. But the sight before her caused words to die down in her throat. Percy looked outside the window, his gaze focused and his feet tapped the floor rhythmically. Piper slept on his shoulder, snuggling his arm into her chest like a teddy bear.
"Percy, do you really think Hades has the Bolt?" she asked instead.
"Oh," he cocked his head towards her. "Why do you say that? Aren't you the one to convince me before?" he smiled knowingly.
Annabeth told him about her dream while carefully watching his face to find something to confirm her suspicions; his face cramped a little. "I think Hades might not have the Bolt. If so, we might—"
"Tell me, Annabeth. Has anyone in the past escaped the Underworld alive?" he sidetracked her question. Annabeth huffed in annoyance but still thought about it for a while.
"There was Hercules. Capture the guardian hound, Cerberus, was one of his labors. Then there was Orpheus, who had gone to the Underworld to get back his wife, but failed." she tried to recollect some old legend about a demigod.
"Yeah, and Dionysus," she remembered her camp director. "When he ascended to godhood, he dived into the Underworld to get his mother back to Olympus," she said.
"There was one more. Houdini, an escape-artist demigod of Hermes, was rumored to have escaped from the depth of Tartarus, but I believe it was just Erebus," she added. No one could escape the personification of Hell in one piece.
The train rolled into St. Louis and Annabeth completely forgot about her previous question about Hades and couldn't tear her eyes away as they passed under the Gateway Arch. The monument was one of those that defied arguments against its design and construction to become a centerpiece. Creating a masterpiece was an enormous undertaking. It needs years of planning and blueprint development. But the investment would definitely pay off as the work lasted for centuries. And the ancient lands were filled with monumental ruins that proved to be legacies of architecture that remain after millennia.
"I want to do that." she sighed dreamily.
"What?" Percy said, making her jump. She'd forgotten about him in her reverie.
"Build something like that." she gestured to the Arch. She knew The Parthenon in the ancient lands was her muse, and the structure would inspire her masterpiece one day. "I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."
"You?" he looked at her dubiously. "An architect?" and asked disbelievingly.
Annabeth felt hurt and angry. She glared at him. Where did he get off belittling her dreams? Before she could snark haughtily about something that might make her guilty later on, he raised his hand.
"It's not I'm undervaluing your dreams or anything, but I had a tough time picturing you at a table, silently working on blueprints." she snorted at the mental image. She had to agree it was amusing. "Not when you'd trouble sitting still in a running train. Sorry," he said faintly. With that, her anger slowly melted away.
"We're arriving at St Louis Station," a pleasant female voice over the intercom announced. "Passengers traveling onwards are reminded that there will be a three-hour layover here. Thank you."
Annabeth felt excited, her previous sour mood swept away. They had three hours to kill and the Arch was five blocks away. She knew what she had to do.
Percy and Piper weren't too thrilled about checking out the Arch, but she pleaded and implored them to go, and finally threatened to visit the arch alone. That made them concede. She was glad they'd raided Medusa's cash register to pay for the tickets. While they waited in line to catch up the curved elevator, Annabeth drank and studied the panels of construction pictures.
"Did you know the critics claimed it was useless, with no practical usage at the start? But here it was, still standing after fifty years," she said wistfully and traced the photographs behind the case. "I'd read that it was actually a memorial to the pioneer explorers of America. They even had radio shows about it."
"People must've been starving for entertainment back then," Percy muttered. Piper had plugged her ears after her spiel on the Arch history, and followed them woodenly. It was—at last—their turn in the elevator. For some odd reason, the elevator seemed to keep Percy on the edge. She figured he'd perk up once they started moving. He'd have to be a little awed to ride a curved elevator.
The view from the top was spectacular. They were 600 feet above the city and she could see everything through the small, narrow windows. Annabeth marveled at the sheer ingenuity of the carpeted floor spreading their weight diagonally downwards. She added hints of her new ideas to the monument to her muse—like if the observation deck was constructed with glass all the way around for tourists to have a panoramic view—and studied the deck design.
Before she could marvel at the structure of the observatory deck, Percy tugged at her sleeve. "They're closing. We'd better go!" He practically dragged Piper and her to the elevator and pushed them in. The elevator already had two tourists and had no room for Percy.
"Only four at once. Next car, sir."
"We'll get out. We'll wait with you." the attendant looked at her dubiously. The next in line were a couple with their kid; they wouldn't be able to fit in either.
"Nah, it's okay," Percy said. "I'll see you at the bottom."
Unfortunately, the four-minute ride down was apparently enough for Percy to land into another trouble. Alarms blared once the elevator deposited them down and came to a standstill. The emergency announcement declared the elevators useless in case of fire.
Annabeth exchanged a nervous glance with Piper and they raced through the throngs of tourists rushing for the exit. A column of fire sprouted from the observation deck overhead. A National Monument caught fire out of nowhere.
"Piper," she pointed up at the Arch. "Did you notice anything strange when we were up there?"
"Not really," Piper shook her head, but her face turned pale. "But now it seems there might've been one..."
Annabeth wanted to scream at her, but the truth was, it was her fault they'd gotten separated. She was the one who wanted to see the Arch, and she'd let him stay behind. Now he was stuck in an enclosed space, possibly with another minion of Hades, or worse Hades himself.
"Okay, calm down. It's okay," she said, though she was trying to convince herself more than Piper. She brainstormed hopeful ideas like some emergency escape route or some hazard protocol to save the tourists.
"Annabeth, look up." Something came falling out of the air, growing by size as it descended. It zipped over their heads and plummeted towards the river. Horror flitted past her eyes.
"Oh gods, no!" they dashed past the boulevard, swerving cars, and rushed to the river. Even though she knew no one could've survived a fall like that—the acceleration to terminal velocity alone would've been fatal—she couldn't help scanning the river. The surface gave no signs.
"Percy!" Piper screamed and furrowed her brows in confusion.
Annabeth felt dread settle in the pit of her stomach and envelope her whole. She wanted to plonk down and bawl her eyes out. Somewhere during the wait, they'd grabbed hold of each other's hand, and were clinging tightly, hoping for a miracle.
She had never felt this hopeless in her life before, not even when they'd lost Thalia. Their journey had been at close then. Now, they were hundreds of miles away from camp and Los Angeles, the leader of their quest was either missing or dead, and she had no idea what to do now.
She prayed to her mom for any advice. And then, to a god she'd never imagined she'd beg. Lord Poseidon... please... he's your son!
"Di immortals!" Piper screamed suddenly and let go of her hand. "PERCY!" she dashed ahead. Annabeth caught sight of tousled black hair before Piper slammed into him, almost bowling him over. She clung to him for half-minute. When Percy's green locked onto her, she caught herself between wanting to fling herself at him and smack him at the same time.
xXx
A/N: I know the chapter was a little repetitive, but I had to do it this way to incorporate Annabeth's character into the story. This chapter has complete Annabeth written in it. Her past, fears, ambitions.., Did you find them?
Tell me about it. You know the drill: Reviews are much appreciated.
