Chapter 3:
Camp Jupiter's saviour
Percy rolled under an arrow and sprinted to the side. He ducked behind a rock and let out a breath. He reflected back to what had happened. The Hunters of Artemis were chasing him.
The current leader of the hunters was Phoebe as Thalia was at camp with Jason. Unfortunately for Percy, she hated the campers because of the stunt the Stolls pulled and was out for revenge against any camp members. And who was the camper in her sight? Percy, of course.
And another unfortunate case. She stated that Artemis had ordered them to avoid Percy reaching Annabeth's location. While Artemis ordering that seemed very unlikely, it wasn't impossible.
Percy got out of his cover and climbed a tree or tried to but he fell on his butt. He winced in pain but got up and shouted out, "I thought Thalia stationed you at Camp Half-Blood?"
Cold, cruel laughter rang out and a voice replied, "Yeah but milady's word has more power than the lieutenant's. And Milady has given us permission to restrain you forcefully if necessary."
A figure dropped from the closest tree, resulting in Percy jumping up in surprise. Percy positioned his sword such that the blade was facing the figure. The figure looked up and Percy recognized her as Phoebe, the girl who was pranked by the Stolls and the hunter leading the Hunters against him.
He lowered his sword as he figured she wouldn't harm an unarmed opponent. Big mistake.
Phoebe immediately drew her bow and shot an arrow at Percy. All he saw was a silver blur before he felt pain in his chest and back. Dark spots danced in his vision and he groaned in pain while he tried to get up.
Phoebe gasped as she saw no blood on his chest and that the arrow which she had shot was broken. Percy glowered at her and said, "Leave now. You can't wound me as you already tried."
Phoebe still continued gaping at him as she asked, "Y-You b-b-bear t-th-the c-cur-curse o-of Achilles?"
Percy simply nodded. Phoebe straightened up and said, "Well, I don't care if we hurt you like this. But we will capture you and find the spot."
Percy shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, you won't." Just as he said that a wave of water flooded the area, sending the hidden hunters and Phoebe underwater, unconscious with the force of impact and shock. Percy gritted his teeth as the pain in his gut increased but managed to stop the water.
The hunters lay on the ground, completely wet from water. He staggered forward and reached outside the clearing and saw a shadow of a person- a girl according to what he saw.
He slumped on the ground and whispered, exhaustedly, "Find… Camp… Jupiter…" before he passed out.
(*Time Skip*)
Percy opened his eyes and laid eyes upon a girl who looked almost 16. She had piercing black eyes and glossy black hair worn in a single braid. She was glaring at him with such intensity that he felt like he was burning up from the soul.
He got up slowly on his elbows and tried to stand up, but exhaustion overcame him and he slumped back on the ground. He ignored the girl's look of mockery and said, "Are you a mortal?"
The girl, to her credit, looked mortified and replied, "A mortal?! Quia Jupiter's propter, non."
Percy stared at her confused before a strange reflex inside him led him to say, "ut sis semideum?"
Reyna looked at him impressed and asked, "You speak Latin?"
Percy looked more confused than before and said, or rather asked, "Yes?"
Reyna shook her head and said, "The other girl knew it too."
"The other girl?"
"Yes. The Graeca girl, daughter of Minerva, spoke latin as well. But it was expected. Do you remember who I am?"
Percy shook his head but there was a strange similarity to someone he had seen before. But it seemed too far away. Like a brief glance at her and at the time he had not been paying attention, which is more likely as every time I looked anywhere, I was being threatened or in danger because of the Gods.
Reyna face-palmed and said, "I am Reyna, Praetor of the twelfth legion, Daughter of Bellona."
Percy simply tilted his head and said, "I am Percy. Um… I kinda have a long list of titles. Do you want the short version or long version? I prefer the short version as long version might take some time."
Reyna contemplated him and stated, "I would like the long version to ensure I am talking to the right person."
Percy took a deep breath and said, "I am Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Slayer of monsters, Slayer of Kronos, Bane of Minotaur, Savior of Olympus," and he again continued with as many titles as he could remember.
Reyna's cold form broke as awe and surprise made its way onto her face. Her jaw was wide open by the time he had finished rattling his titles. He took another deep breath and said, "That's all for now."
Reyna stared at him and stated out of blue, "You have changed."
Percy pulled back and stared at her weirdly as she said that. She hastily said, "I meant from the last time I saw you."
"Last time you saw me?"
"Yes. At Medea's island, remember?"
Percy mouth transformed to 'O' as he recognized Reyna as one of the assistants in Medea's Spa island where he was turned into guinea pig (long story).
Before he could question her further, Reyna said, "You said that you needed to go to Camp Jupiter. How do you know about that? Did Lupa send you here like the other demigod?"
"Lupa? Who's that? And you mean Annabeth's here?"
"Lupa is our Roman Goddess who trains the demigods till she deems them… good enough. Then she sends them here?"
Percy had a feeling that 'good enough' was not the same meaning to his 'good enough' but he decided not to ask her. Even if she didn't look like much, Percy knew that she wasn't the praetor for no reason.
He asked, "So is Annabeth here?"
Reyna looked away but Percy thought he caught a look of bitterness on her face. She replied back, coldly, "Unfortunately not. She came here with no memories and then won the Camp games with the daughter of Pluto and son of Mars. After that she got a quest from Mars to free Death from the land beyond gods."
"Alaska."
Reyna nodded admirably and asked, "How do you know?"
Percy chuckled silently and said, "Living with Annabeth has its pros and cons."
Reyna shook her head and said, "Right now, it's not the time for fun. A scout said that there is an army heading here."
Percy asked, confused, "So why is that a problem? If Camp Jupiter is as good as you say, then you shouldn't have a problem with defeating an army."
Reyna shook her head and said, "A giant is leading the army."
Percy looked at her for more information and she sighed, "Polybotes is leading the army."
Percy paled at the news but gritted his teeth and stood up. He began walking but stopped when Reyna said, "You are going the wrong way."
Percy gave her a sheepish smile and followed her to a service tunnel.
*Line Break*
"Annabeth!" shouted Percy as a familiar person with blonde hair rushed up the hill, her memory finally restored.
"PERCY!"
Percy didn't waste a moment to hug Annabeth tightly, not letting any space between them. Annabeth eagerly returned it, having a little bit of an idea as to what Percy had to endure because of Hera's plan.
"Oh my god Percy. I can't believe you are here."
Percy, in reply, kissed her hard, trying to feel his girlfriend back in his hands. In his vision, the camp disappeared. The people disappeared. Annabeth's companions disappeared. Everything disappeared.
"Now I believe it," said Annabeth, slightly dreamily.
Percy pulled back and smiled, genuine happiness emitting from him. Seeing Percy happy, the people of Camp Jupiter cheered and laughed, some headed forwards and clapped the two companions.
Percy extended his hand and said, "I am Percy, Percy Jackson. Son of Neptune."
The girl gasped and said, "A son of Neptune?"
Percy simply nodded, confused at her reaction. The boy, who seemed like he had a crush on the girl, looked confused and a tad bit angry at Percy.
"Frank, remember my curse? A son of Neptune must free me of it." exclaimed the girl.
"I am sorry but I don't even know your name."
"Oh right, I am Hazel, Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto. And this doofus here," Hazel pointed at the boy, "is Frank, son of Mars."
Percy shook his hands with the duo and said, "Interesting couple. Anyways, thanks for keeping Annabeth safe."
Annabeth stomped on his foot, eliciting laughter from the three. Hazel was the first to calm and said, "Quite opposite though. She was the one to save us, being the daughter of Minerva."
Percy nodded as he already expected it. What he found odd was Mars and Pluto never really got together with each other but they were mutual friends, after all Mars had helped Pluto to find Thanatos in the early days.
"Anyways, Annabeth we have a problem," said Percy, seriously.
Annabeth mirrored his expression and said, "Yes. The giants. We need to get moving. But we need three more demigods. I don't know who they are though."
"We are," said a mixture of voices and Percy turned to greet the trio who jumped off a floating ship. Percy read the name, 'Argo II'. The mast was raised and on the front was Festus' head looking over the Field of Mars, its nose blowing steam.
*Time Skip*
"Hold on! I'm going to try to pull you up!" Percy shouted to his girlfriend, who was currently dangling over the deepest hole in existence. He could feel the evils of the pit emanating from below.
"Just drop me! There's nothing you can do for me at this point. I can try and meet up with you at the Doors of Death," She yelled back over the harsh winds blowing in their faces.
"No way in Hades I'm going to drop you. Neither of us is going to fall into that pit! Jason!" Percy yelled to the blonde Superman hovering above. He seemed to get the message and swooped down towards the door flailing demigods.
Annabeth had finally gone still, seeing hope that they might be able to escape this certain death.
But as Jason flew closer and closer he tried controlling the winds around the two demigods. The wind swirled around them and Percy struggled to hold the both of them up.
"No! Stop blowing the wind so hard! We're going to fall off!" Percy screamed to Jason, but it was too late. His grip on Annabeth slipped and she fell into the depths below.
Percy yelled in panic and let go of the ledge, seemingly trying to catch her as she fell.
Jason, also quite panicked, directed the winds to fly himself towards the two demigods.
He caught Percy, but the weight of his body was almost too much for him.
Jason's brain was screaming inside his head, but he knew that he could not get both of them at once. With tears in his eyes, he dragged a sobbing Percy to the edge of the Pit, where both of them collapsed onto the ground, broken beyond salvation.
Frank looked over the edge of Argo II, finally gaining consciousness and watched the strongest demigod and the second strongest demigod on the ground, both panting and crying. Groaning, he transformed into a dragon and dived right down to the edge, careful not to get close to the Pit.
Picking up both the demigods by claws, he flew towards the ship where he collapsed in exhaustion. Leo's angry face appeared from the engine room as the whole ship shook from Frank the Dragon's weight.
He was about to speak when he noticed the demigods on the floor, unmoving and the only noise that could be heard was of Percy crying his eyes out.
*Time Skip*
Piper could feel everyone's pity and sympathy towards Percy, who sat huddled in the chair, rocking himself. Piper found his current state more scarier than when he was crying and that was something because when he was crying, he was slashing his sword here and there.
The whole atmosphere had gone from cheering to somber when Jason told them what happened. Nico stood at Percy's side, his expression troubled as he tried to comfort Percy. Everyone else tried to be optimistic and hopeful that Annabeth would make it back. No words were required to say that. Everyone had seen how she fought and how she used her wits so there was no doubt that she wouldn't make it. Afterall, she had to make it. At least for Percy.
Percy finally looked at the gathering and said, "It's all my fault. It's all my fault that she is all alone in Tartarus. If I hadn't been so weak, I could have kept a hold on her. I let her go."
Piper stood up, her chair falling back in the momentum as she made her way towards Percy who kept muttering gibberish of how it was his fault. She kneeled to his eye level and whispered, softly, "It isn't your fault. You held onto her till the last second."
He looked into her eyes, bright green eyes that were red as blood as he stared at her. His expression grew angry as he looked at Jason.
"You! It was your fault. You pushed the air at me. You made me drop her. I will kill you!" he screamed as he uncapped Riptide and jumped at Jason.
Jason, to his credit, dodged and took out his gladius and met Riptide with defensive blows. Piper stood shocked as she watched the fight rage on. Hazel tried to help them but even she was scared to get caught in the mid-fire.
A scream made her conscious as she saw Riptide, deep in Jason's thighs. Her eyes widened and with her charmspeak at full power, she commanded, "STOP!"
Percy's eyes glazed over immediately as he stopped everything he was doing and stood still. Piper hurried over to Jason, Leo following her as they both took Riptide out of Jason slowly.
Turning back to Percy, she continued, "It wasn't his fault either. It was Gaia's fault. She made Arachne open the Pit."
Percy shook his head off the charmspeak, his eyes glaring at the floor. Before he could say something, Nico cut in with a shaky voice, and teary eyes.
"Annabeth's dead."
Percy stood still, not even breathing as he heard the news. A loud wail from the ship shocked any of the nearby flying birds as Percy crashed to the floor, hoping that the Fates would come and claim his life, just so he could rejoin his fallen lover and companion.
M/N: Chapter 3 is done. Established a basic plotline but Annabeth will play more role after Chapter 6 or something. Could be early. *Fingers crossed* Anyways enjoy.
T/N: Some of you guys will probably hate me for saying this, but I'm kind of glad that we got Annabeth's death out of the way. Now we can focus more on the main plot.