AAAAHHH! This is infuriating I can't see reviews still so I don't know what people are thinking but I swear I will try to reply when I can actually see them again! As long as there's not an insane number.
Annabeth didn't think she'd ever be able to look back on that fight without cringing. She was Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. She wasn't the type of Percy, but when the giant had stepped out- and he wasn't even that big for a giant, perhaps twenty-five feet tall, with the usual armour, though his skin and his dragon-scale legs were all the colour of charcoal. Copper wires and smashed circuit boards glittered in the braids of his oil-black hair.
And the giant had terrified her.
All of her worst possible memories had flooded her mind in that instant, the worst moments of her life bearing down on her. The fear she'd felt when she'd first ran away, the spiders when she'd been little and helpless. The trauma of the sight of her big sister, the girl who'd cared for her on that hill, dying so that Annabeth had the chance to live.
And there were more recent memories too- more powerful. The cavern in the Underworld, the terror that had flooded her veins when she'd realised that Percy was dangling over the pit and she'd had to fend off Alabaster for the chance to save her. She remembered her fear in the volcano, and after. The worst memories, memories of rushing into the throne room to the sight of Percy limp in Luke's arms. Memories of seeing Percy get beaten by Alabaster.
And her entire quest, following her mothers stupid Mark, Arachne- and dangling over the pit, those last horrific seconds, the helpless powerless rush that had flooded over her as she'd been forced to watch one of the two halves of her heart fall into the worst place she could possibly imagine.
In any case, if it wasn't for Piper Annabeth would have died- as it was the daughter of Aphrodite managed to grab her arm- and she was half convinced that she used her charmspeak to get Annabeth moving- and even when Annabeth did manage to clear her head to try and think up a plan Piper didn't let her. Which Annabeth was grateful for.
The giant was Mimas. Plans wouldn't work against him, he was, as he said, the breaker of plans, and Piper had been right, they'd needed to rely on emotions- which wasn't something Annabeth was good at- other than with Percy and Rachel, those emotions could overrule her usual logic.
Piper was amazing though- Annabeth really didn't know how the other girl did it.
And then the Giant had made a mistake.
Mimas had been reminding them that Ares wasn't there- the statue was but Ares himself wasn't. And he'd mentioned Damasen, called him useless for failing to kill the god.
And that had made Annabeth angry.
She didn't know the Giant or the Titan that Percy, Leo and Nico loved so much very well. If she was honest they worried her a lot. But without them Percy would have died. He'd healed the daughter of Poseidon when she'd been filled with curses- and Annabeth had openly sobbed as Percy had haltingly explained that to her- the mental image of Percy stabbed through the side all the way, of her blind and in pain and powerless, it had made Annabeth's heart break- especially since while Percy didn't outright say it she knew that she'd still been with Alabaster at that stage.
She didn't ever talk about the exact details of what had happened next, but- Percy would have been in so much pain and helpless. If Bob hadn't arrived when he had she'd have probably never gotten away. And even when she did get away from what Annabeth had been told she'd been so close to dying that Nico had been convinced she wouldn't make it, even if he'd never said as much to Leo.
And Damasen had been the one to heal her, to help her get better despite the damage that the curses had done.
And Percy loved the Giant. She might not have known him long but Annabeth knew that Percy could get attached very easily. Bob and Damasen had earned a place in her heart. And so hearing this other giant talk to callously about someone who Percy loved? That pissed Annabeth off.
And since Percy wasn't there Annabeth had to defend his honor, and chopping his ear off had been very satisfying.
Of course they'd then had to take off again- and they'd found themselves right back in the shrine room, behind the Giant Mimas- both of them slashing at his legs and bringing him to his knees.
The giant had howled in pain at that as chunks of stone tumbled from the ceiling- which they'd been doing for much longer than Annabeth was comfortable with, if she was being honest.
And even with both of them working together he'd been smug, aware of the fact that they had no god to help them- taunting the fact that no plan of their could defeat him- and Annabeth had laughed when Piper had quickly shot back, "That's good. Because I don't have a plan." and honestly she did remind Annabeth of Percy in that moment.
And then Piper had whirled around and taken off, sprinting back towards the statue of Ares calling back; "Annabeth! Keep our friend occupied!"
And seriously? How was Annabeth supposed to do that.
The fury she'd felt that had allowed her to chop off the giants ear had faded away, leaving Annabeth struggling, to say the least.
But still, she wasn't the type of person to let her friends down easily.
"I'll keep him occupied alright!" she tried to summon up the anger again.
So she forced herself to imagine Percy and Rachel.
She imagined what would happen to her girls if either of them were with her.
Rachel... she'd struggle but she'd probably handle it better even than Annabeth.
Percy though- with how much the daughter of Poseidon had been through, well, it definitely wouldn't go well. The fear would tear her apart inside, the pain from the memories.
And that thought made Annabeth angry, angry enough that she could use it as an anchor, she stopped thinking about plans- she imagined that Percy was scared, alone and hurt. She imagined that Rachel was there with her, trying to help their beautiful brave girlfriend.
And Mimas was the only thing between them and her.
All plans flew out of the window when she pictured that and she almost flew at the giant, leaping up with all of the momentum she could muster, her dagger slashing down across his face
Golden ichor spilled down his face from where her blade had tore into his skin, and his arm swung at her, she gasped in pain as he caught her across the stomach and she flew backwards into the wall.
But she couldn't allow that to stop her even as she slid down it.
She staggered to her feet, still gripping her dagger as the giant charged towards her.
No plans. Instincts needed to rule.
She ducked low as he swung at her, sliding under the attempted blow- and he was turning even as she went to slash at the back of his leg- but he managed to dodge- and then his attention shifted to something behind Annabeth, and the daughter of Athena turned her head, her gaze focusing on Piper, who was swinging her blade towards the statue of Ares' head.
"NO!" the giant yelled the word- but it was too late.
The severed head toppled to the floor and flames roared up from the statue's severed neck.
Annabeth choked back a scream as the fiery spirits surged towards Piper, whirling around her as she spread out her arms wide.
Then the flames vanished- the cornucopia- which Piper must have used as a sacrifice to her brothers disappeared too. And the chained statue of Ares crumbled into dust.
"Foolish girl!" and Mimas was charging towards Piper, "The Makhai have abandoned you!" And Annabeth took off instantly, rushing after him as fast as she could.
"Or maybe they've abandoned you." Piper sounded faintly smug at that, and Mimas was raising his hammer.
He seemed to have forgotten Annabeth. And Annabeth was not going to stand by and let him hurt her friend.
She reached him, stabbing her dagger into his thigh with every big of her strength.
The giant staggered forward at that, off balance and in pain- and Percy watched as Piper stepped in calmly and stabbed him in the gut.
Mimas crashed face-first into the nearest doorway. He turned over just as the stone face of Panic cracked off the wall above him and toppled down for a one-ton kiss.
The giant's cry was cut short. His body went still. Then he disintegrated into a twenty-foot pile of ash.
Annabeth blinked slowly, taking a second just to stare before she turned to look at Piper. "W-what just happened?"
"I'm not sure." Piper looked as stunned as Annabeth felt. Which was very stunned.
"Piper that- I mean you were completely amazing but those fiery spirits you released-"
"The makhai."
"How does that help us find the cure we're looking for?"
"I don't know. They said I could summon them when the time comes. Maybe Artemis and Apollo can explain –"
A section of the wall calved like a glacier- and yeah, that was not a good sign.
Annabeth stumbled despite herself and she almost slipped on the giant's severed ear. "We need to get out of here."
"I'm working on it," Piper said.
"And, uh, I think this ear is your spoil of war."
"Gross."
"Would make a lovely shield."
"Shut up, Chase. Besides you're the one who chopped the ear off." Piper stared at the second doorway, which still had the face of Fear above it. "Thank you, brothers, for helping to kill the giant. I need one more favour – an escape. And, believe me, I am properly terrified. I offer you this, uh, lovely ear as a sacrifice."
The stone face made no answer. Another section of the wall peeled away. A starburst of cracks appeared in the ceiling.
Piper grabbed Annabeth's hand. "We're going through that doorway. If this works, we might find ourselves back on the surface."
"Guess I'm going to have to trust you on that one."
And as the room collapsed around them Annabeth let Piper lead her out of the temple of fear.
