Chapter VII - Annabeth

Annabeth hated feeling useless. She was sitting on the ground in front of the cave, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible on the hard ground. Her injured leg was spread out in front of her, the ugly blackness slowly creeping towards her knee. Although she was still in denial, she knew what it would mean if they didn't find a cure as soon as possible.

It was ironic, really. Percy jumped into Tar-, down there, because she was to weak to climb up because of her stupid ankle injury, and now they're kind of stuck here because she injured her other ankle. The fates really had it in for her.

Annabeth ignored her stomach as it rumbled for food. She yearned for a piece of bread, anything, but they had already eaten their ration for the first part of the day, and so she had no choice but to wait for nightfall to come, so they could eat their second ration. Percy was out there somewhere, trying to hunt for food for them, with a bow, while she just sat there in self-pity, feeling useless and alone.

But she had to be stronger than that: Percy hardly complained about anything and she had to be strong for him too. So, she did the only productive thing that came to mind: look for food. She winced as the pain shot up her leg as she stood up. Each step hurt and she tried her best to ignore it. Slowly but surely, she reached the border of the clearing, and started walking around it in search for wild fruits. She really felt thankful for Katie Gardners "lessons" in plants and gardening, so she was able to distinguish between the good fruits and eat-me-and-I'll-kill-you fruits. Only a handful of berries had accumulated in her palm after what felt like hours of searching and all this physical activity and stress on her ankle was starting to make her feel lightheaded. She ate a small bit of the berries, enjoying their sweetish taste, before making her way back to the entrance of the cave. Her head was really not doing her any favors, and her ankle burned like a million flames.

'Only a few steps more,' she told herself. 'It's not far, only a few steps more.'

Left foot. She bit her lip, hard.

Right foot. Sweat was dripping from her forehead, the dehydration not aiding in her lightheadedness.

Left foot. Is this what it felt like to drink alcohol? Why would mortals even want to feel that way?

Right foot. She would surely prefer nectar than Dionysus' creation.

Left foot. Where's the fun in seeing the world spin? You're just constantly out of balance?

Right foot. She felt like she had to puke.

Left foot. Wait, the world is spinning faster. Why is everything spinning so quickly?! Stop it, STOP, STO-

And everything went black.

Annabeth woke up to the smell of cooked meat. Ignoring the searing pain in her head, she tried to sit up and kept her eyes closed. There was some shuffling and she felt person hug her. Percy. She would recognize those arms anywhere.

"Annabeth!" she heard him. "Annabeth, thank the gods you woke up! I was so worried! How are you feeling? What happened?"

"Hey Percy," she said tiredly, leaning into his touch, her eyes still shut. "I'm sorry I made you worry, I think I fainted."

"What did you even want to do? You were lying a good distance away from the cave when we found you!"

Wait. We?

Annabeth quickly opened her eyes, squinting to adjust to the brightness and looked around, her eyes landing on the little 12-year-old girl standing a few feet behind Percy. Uh oh. She tried to get up on her feet to bow and glared at Percy as he held her down with a worried look on her face.

"There is no need to bow, Annabeth. Not in your current state, at least," the goddess said in a voice unfitting to a 12-year-old.

"Lady Artemis," she breathed. The goddess nodded.

"After Perseus had prayed to me I decided to grant him his wish as a compensation for what he, and you, did back at Mount Othrys. I believe that this is indeed the first time I have granted a prayer to a male," Artemis said.

"Does this mean I get a trophy?" Percy whispered and Annabeth elbowed him into the ribs.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis," Annabeth tried saying respectfully, but was interrupted by her own stomach growling, causing Percy to snicker. She blushed and muttered a quick sorry, before he handed her a piece of the boar cooking on top of a fire at the entrance of the cave.

Artemis chose to ignore this interaction, something Annabeth was grateful for.

"I was curious as to why Perseus had the need to even pray to me," she continued. "So, I came down here. I also needed to put an end to the terrible archery I was feeling in my domain."

It was Annabeth's turn to smirk this time as Percy just smiled at her sheepishly.

"So, tell me," Artemis said. "What are the two heroes of Olympus doing so far outside of camp?"

Percy's whole demeanor changed very quickly and Annabeth squeezed his hand.

"There were a few… complications," she answered for him. "We cannot go back there, at least for now."

Artemis nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer.

"Perseus had also told me about your injuries," she said. "I already tried to take a look at his shoulder, but I believe I can see it better on your ankle, Annabeth."

Annabeth nodded gratefully and exposed her ankle to the goddess and Artemis took it into her soft hands.

"I have never seen anything like this," she said. "I do not know if I am capable of healing this."

Artemis placed her palm on the blackest spot, her hand glowing with silvery light for a few pulses. Annabeth immediately felt better, being able to feel her toes again, but the feeling was gone as soon as Artemis removed her hand.

Artemis sighed. "I do not like to do this at all, but your health is more important to me, to Olympus, than my pride. Plus, Uncle Poseidon would probably hunt me down for not trying."

Annabeth was confused with what she meant with that until Artemis looked up towards the ceiling of the cave, cupped her hands and shouted: "APOLLO!"

Said good immediately appeared in a blinding flash of light, making Percy and Annabeth look away.

"Sup baby sis," Apollo said with his megawatt smile, making Annabeth almost turn away again. "It's been soooo long that you called me, looong overdue. But I have to ask, why in our father's name are you in such a stinky cave?! Oooh, wait, yeah right… nature goddess, living in harmony with it blablabla, no wonder the satyrs are so in love with you."

He looked around, his view finally landing on the two demigods.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!" he said exasperatedly, swinging his arms in an exaggerated motion over his head. "My baby sis calls, and my two favorite demigods are here in one place! I believe this special situation calls for a haiku:

My baby sis calls

Demigods are here in need

Of my super-cool aid."

Annabeth got a very strong feeling of a déjà vu when Percy pointed out: "Uhm, the last verse had only six syllables."

"Really?" Apollo said as he scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Let me try that again:

My baby sis calls

Demigods are here in need

Of my awesome aid."

He finished, pleased with what he came up with, while Artemis looked ready to explode.

"Stop. Calling. Me. Baby. Sis," she said in a dangerous tone, making Annabeth and Percy shiver. Apollo looked unaffected by it.

"Whatever you say, baby sis," he said smirking.

"Apollo," Percy breathed, overwhelmed by the situation while simultaneously trying to divert the attention of the twins to something less lethal.

"Sup cuz, camp been treating you well?" he asked and Percy flinched involuntarily. Apollo saw and his face changed. "Oh, OK, I see…"

"Lord Apollo-" Annabeth tried respectfully.

"Cut the lord crap," Apollo interrupted her. "You saved Olympus like what, a gazillion times?"

Annabeth blushed.

"I think you've earned the right to call us by our names," he continued. "So, call me Fred."

"Um, uh," Annabeth started. Apollo laughed.

"Come on, girl, I'm just messing with ya."

"I think that was the first time I saw wise girl speechless. So, thanks, Fred," he said and fist bumped him.

"BOYS!" Artemis shouted, and everyone went silent. "Can we please get to the point? Apollo, take a look at their injuries."

Apollo nodded and took a closer look at Annabeth's ankle.

"I have never seen anything like this," he said in the exact same way Artemis had said it. "It is a poison, that much is clear, but it seems ancient."

"How can it be poisoned?" Annabeth asked confusedly. "I understand Percy's being poisoned, but I only tripped, no blade came near mine."

Apollo examined it.

"I believe you are wrong," he said and pointed at a spot on her foot. Indeed, there was a tiny fading cut on the side of her ankle. "It must have been a lucky strike. Sadly, I do not know of any cure for this one."

Apollo conjured up some ambrosia squares and gave them Percy and Annabeth to eat. Nothing happened. Actually, it even seemed like the poison spread a bit quicker through her ankle, almost already reaching her knee, and she grimaced. She couldn't actually feel the pain, but there was no feeling at all in her toes, she couldn't even move her foot. The black spots from Percy's shoulder were starting to reach his arm now.

Apollo scrunched his eyebrows in worry.

"That's weird," he said. "I have never seen a poison reject ambrosia. This is bad, very bad. But maybe… maybe my son could help."

"Will?" Percy asked confusedly. "No offense Apollo, he is a talented healer but he can't rival you."

Apollo waved him off.

"No, my other son, probably the only one more capable of healing than me."

"Asclepius," Annabeth breathed and Apollo gave her a smile.

"Let's see how he's doing now, shall we?" Apollo said before shouting "ASCLEPIUS!"

The god of medicine appeared and he was not what Annabeth expected, at all. Jason had described him as a kind, middle-aged man, with short salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard, wearing a lab coat on top of a business suit. This man seemed like a completely different person. His white hair was long and unkept. Wrinkles adorned his face and his suit and lab coat were crinkled and grayish. His blue eyes probably once full of light, were now dull, maybe even broken. All in all, he seemed as if he had aged 30 years.

Asclepius didn't even acknowledge his father, just staring into empty space, no hint of recognition that he had been summoned, muttering in front him.

Apollo's bright smile has died down since seeing his son in this state, and turned into a look of worry. Even Artemis seemed sympathetic of the god she once called to revive Hippolytus. Apollo carefully laid a hand on the medicine gods shoulder, slowly turning Asclepius towards him. Asclepius smiled sadly at him.

"Hello, father," he said. Annabeth almost wanted to cry at the tone of his voice.

"Asclepius," Apollo said worriedly. "What happened?"

Asclepius stared into empty space once again.

"Spikey," he whispered. "They… they took him from me."

Annabeth gasped. The Rod of Asclepius was his symbol of power, basically binding his power to it.

"Who took it from you, nephew?" Artemis asked in a surprisingly kind tone.

"Lady Artemis," Asclepius said, his mouth twitching upwards minimally upon hearing the goddess. "I do not know, who it was, but from one moment to the next, Spikey was gone. I am nothing without my staff, reduced to a shell of a man only with his knowledge, but without healing capabilities."

Apollo looked at him sympathetically.

"Son," he started. "We will start to look for your staff immediately, I promise you. But first, could you please look at the two demigods here for me?"

Asclepius turned towards them, seemingly noticing them for the first time.

"Ah, the infamous Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. I believe I have met your companions already," he said and pointed his palms towards the two demigods, concentrating and closing his eyes, his body already starting to look younger from his father's reassurance and the prospect of healing new patients.

"You suffer from a severe case of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," he continued and Annabeth almost had the urge to roll her eyes and shout 'yeah, no shit,' despite the situation. She mentally slapped herself for becoming too much like Percy.

"Yeah, no shit," Percy whispered to her and she elbowed him yet again in his ribs.

"You must've really had a traumatic experience for that, worse than anyone has ever experienced," he continued without interruption. "But I do not believe I am here for that. Either way, the best way to conquer PTSD is to face your fears together, probably opening up to each other about it first. Now, let's get to the more interesting part."

Asclepius moved towards them and placed a hand on Annabeth's ankle.

"Hmm," he muttered to himself. "This is a poison, for sure, an ancient poison. Something very rare. This is actually the first time I've seen a case of this in real life. I've read about it in my pursuit to understand every illness and its cure, in an ancient book I've had to painstakingly decipher. It dates back before the times of the Olympians, before the time of humanity even."

Percy paled. "Like from Kronos' time?"

"No," Asclepius shook his head. "Even further, back to the primordial times of the earth. It is said to repel even the food of the gods, nectar and ambrosia, even get stronger with it. Its danger is not in its lethality, but in the very small number of cures that exist. It numbs the muscles of the area it was inserted to, slowly creeping its way towards the whole body, finally making the muscles of the body useless, rendering its victim in a sort of forced paralysis, forever. There is only one known potion to it; the rest of the cures involve severing the injured limb and burning it from the inside out," he said gravely. "It is said to be called the black solution."

All present members paled at this description.

"Can…" Annabeth started carefully. "Can you do the potion?"

"Of course, I can do it," Asclepius said. "But there is one crucial ingredient missing: Moonlace. The deliveries have stopped since that nymph got freed from Ogygia. The island is untraceable and I can feel it fading, now that it has served its purpose. It's impossible to get to it."

Asclepius seemingly pulled a saw out of thin air and had a creepily happy face. "So, who would like to start with the severance?"

Annabeth and Percy quickly moved as far away from him as physically possible in the tight cave space.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Asclepius," Apollo said quickly and Percy nodded furiously in agreement.

Annabeth got an idea.

"Percy," she said, turning to him. "Didn't you say that Calypso gave you some Moonlace when you left Ogygia?"

Percy's face lit up at the prospect of that idea.

"Yeah, that's right!" he said excitedly. "It's in my mom's flower box, last time I've seen it, it has grown a lot bigger."

Annabeth turned to Asclepius. "If we deliver it to you, could you make us the potion?"

Asclepius scrutinized her. "I suppose I could, but the process will take a few weeks, at least."

"We have to risk it then," Annabeth said confidently. "Now we have to find a way to get to New York City and bring it to you."

"I will deliver it to you, Asclepius," Artemis offered surprisingly, looking at Annabeth with a look she couldn't decipher. "These demigods will stay safe."

"Perfect," Asclepius said. "Father, would you help me with preparing the ingredients?"

"Yes, of course," Apollo said and the demigods had to cover their eyes as they vanished, without even saying a goodbye.

Artemis turned towards the two of them. "I will have to report this to the council after I have picked the flowers up from your mother. I will keep out the personal parts and keep your location a secret," she promised and vanished in the same way as the former two gods.

Annabeth let go of a deep breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding in. The past hour has been… eventful to say the least. Three gods showing up to their aid, only for them to find out that they had an incurable poison in their body, which would render their bodies useless, if they didn't act quickly.

They sat there, processing the recent events for what felt like hours before Percy made his way to the extinguished fire, trying to light it up again for the night. Annabeth limped towards it with his help and they sat down beside it, her head leaning against his shoulder, nibbling on the remaining pieces of the boar. She knew she probably sounded like one of those love-sick Aphrodite kids, but she couldn't help but feel comforted at their position. Being with Percy came with a certain feeling of home, of family even- wait, what was she thinking about? They were too young to think about that, although she did yearn for the now lost idea of settling down in New Rome with Percy and growing old there.

Annabeth didn't notice the fire burning a bit brighter at her thoughts. Suddenly, Percy gasped in surprise.

"Lady Hestia," he said, bowing his head only, so he wouldn't disturb Annabeth's position. Yet, she quickly followed suit.

An eight-year-old girl with flaming, yet kind eyes emerged from the fire, smiling down at the two demigods.

"Hello, children," she said kindly. "The fire has been burning low since you two left Camp Half-Blood, yet here it is, burning brightly in a cave, miles away. Your sense of home, of familiarity is so strong within each other, that you practically summoned me here."

Annabeth blushed, where her thoughts really that strong? Hestia looked at her with a twinkle in the eye.

"Indeed, daughter of Athena, but fret not, as I believe Perseus also would be feeling the same."

"Percy," he corrected her silently. Hestia only winked at him.

"The hearth has the power to destroy and to heal," she said ominously, which was kind of funny, coming from an eight-year-old girl, but who was she to judge?

"Fire destroys homes, cities even and kills unforgivably, like in Rome all those years ago," she continued, shortly shimmering into her roman aspect. "It burns everything down to ashes, without mercy. Yet, it also has the power of creation and of healing. When Prometheus stole the fire from the gods and gave it to the humans, they advanced – socially and technologically – as quickly as never before. The hearth gave families and friends, even strangers, warmth and shelter in the cold nights at winter, cooked meals they could have never eaten before and the ability to melt metal and stone. Do you understand?"

Annabeth slowly nodded, the gears in her head working, while Percy looked enthralled by her words.

"You two are very special heroes, even with the lethal black solution inside your bodies, you still cling on each other and Elpis is never given up." Hope, Annabeth thought.

"Perseus Jackson, do you understand?" Hestia asked him specifically.

"The hearth has the power to destroy and to heal," he repeated. Hestia's eyes twinkled.

"Then I will bestow upon you a gift, the first gift, never given to anyone before," she said. She placed two fingers on Percy's forehead, muttering something in a language Annabeth couldn't understand, when Percy suddenly started screaming in pain. Annabeth panicked and got up quickly, pulling his head down to her lap and trying to stop him from screaming. Hestia kept her fingers on his forehead, and even when Annabeth tried to pull them off, the goddess had an iron grip.

"What are you doing?!" Annabeth shouted at the goddess. "Stop it! You're hurting him!"

Hestia looked pained, but continued anyway.

"STOP IT!" Annabeth screeched, seeing tears now going down Percy's face, her own tears dripping on his face. The goddess kept her fingers on for a solid minute, which felt like an hour to Annabeth, before finally removing them from his face. As quickly as it started, Percy's screaming died down, his chest heaving up and down heavily, dried up tears on his face.

"I am sorry, Perseus," Hestia said in an apologetic tone. "But my blessing doesn't come cheap, especially as you are my first."

Annabeth's mind went on overdrive.

"Wait," she said. "You blessed him?!"

"I don't… I don't want more powers," Percy breathed.

"I know you don't, Perseus Jackson," Hestia said. "Which is why I admire you as a hero. But I do believe you will need it, if you plan to survive the next weeks."

Percy looked confused and Hestia motioned to his shoulder. Indeed, the black spots were completely gone, the black solution seemingly having been eradicated without a trace. Annabeth realized something: the black solution could be burnt away, as Asclepius had said. And Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, so that's what she meant.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia," Percy said respectfully.

Hestia moved towards Annabeth, and placed her palm over her ankle, the same way Apollo had done it. It started to glow brightly and Annabeth knew she had to relax, as she couldn't believe a poison burning from the inside out being painless. Yet she still wasn't prepared as to what came.

It felt like someone had lit up a million matchsticks and placed them inside her blood stream, turned up the sensitivity of her pain receptors by a hundred and to top it all off, poured molten lava on top of her ankle. Although painful, it was an almost familiar sensation, reminding her of when they had to drink out of the Phlegethon when they were in Tarta-

Uh oh.

The memories suddenly came back crashing on to her, the momentary pain of her ankle completely subsided. She was paralyzed and whimpering, tears streaming down her face, feeling helpless as memories of that place resurfaced in horrifyingly detailed pictures in her brain: Bob, Damasen, Nyx, Akhlys, Akhlys, Akhlys. Her fear she had felt as Percy had a look of lust for more power on his face, almost relishing the feeling as he turned the goddess' own poison against her-

"-nabeth. Annabeth. ANNABETH!" she heard a voice shout and a warm, comforting feeling suddenly entered her body. Her eyes focused on reality and she saw Percy hugging her with a panicked look on his face. She weakly stroked his hair.

"Percy," she whispered, hugging him.

She saw Hestia looking at them with a sad expression. She noticed her ankle was fully healed already, as she must have not felt the pain during her panic attacked. Hestia snapped her fingers and a table with their favorite comfort foods appeared, waiting patiently until the two demigods got themselves together again.

When Percy made sure Annabeth was completely OK, he dug into the food thankfully, smiling sheepishly, while holding her hand to make sure nothing would happen again.

Hestia smiled sadly at them. "I see, Perseus has unconsciously already used one of his powers."

"That warm feeling," Annabeth realized.

"What warm feeling?" Percy asked confusedly. "What did I do?"

"When you hugged her, all you wanted was to comfort her and get her back so you unintentionally gave her a feeling of home, of comfort. You will learn to control this power soon, my champion," she said. "As well as healing the poison as I have."

That could really come in handy. She was proud of Percy, really, yet as much as she had managed to diminish her hubris over the years, there still was this nagging voice in the back of her head, mocking her for not having any powers.

'I have my brain,' she replied to the voice defiantly.

Hestia, apparently noticing everything, said, "Do not fret Annabeth Chase, I believe someone has set an eye on you as well."

Annabeth was confused as to what this meant, but at least the voice in her head shut up.

"What? What do you mean?" Percy voiced her thoughts.

Instead of answering, Hestia only stepped back into the fire, her eyes twinkling as she looked at them (they seemed to do that a lot).

"I wish both of you good luck on your journey. And Perseus, when was the last time you have visited your father?"

And just like that, she was gone.