Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO.
The destruction of Briares and the death of Lee and Castor stoked the fire burning at the core of the Demigod Organization.
It had only been at the sight of their murdered bodies when the participants allied to their cause truly realized the barbaric ways of the Rogues. They were inhuman in their actions yet Annabeth could not say that any of her peers were the same as they used to be. She was no stranger to the primal, violent tendencies she began witnessing within their faction.
Rachel was especially perceptive in determining those too far gone, beyond the help provided by Dr. Chiron Brunner. She worked alongside Clarisse, assigned as Head of Defense, and Will Solace who dealt with injuries on a daily basis at that point. While no one had gone as far as imprisoned their friends, they remained under surveillance.
They could only spare four men to manage the destruction of Briares. Leo's outrage was quenched only at the promise of rebuilding. Charlie hid from the eye of the public for three days before he returned with a renewed determination to fix what had been broken beyond repair.
Pollux, Castor's twin brother, and Michael Yew, who had just been discharged from the infirmary, led the rites of what could count as a funeral for the two victims of the incident. It was not a long ceremony. As horrible as it sounds, none of them could spare time to mourn for their losses. As geniuses, they have learned to place their projects before their emotions. It, at least, provided what little closure they could get from the situation until they could exact their revenge on Ethan Nakamura.
Annabeth was forced to keep her distance from the rebuilding. Percy had specifically assigned her to remain by his side while they recovered. She would take much longer before she could move past the terrifying images of murdered bodies and Briares in pieces. Her mate was only right to let her recover first.
However, the fact that she could not fulfill her duties as Head Engineer did not mean she had any more free time than she had. She was thrown from meeting to meeting with the core faction leaders, pondering on the best course of action against the Rogues and trying to predict what they might hit next. The fact that they had so successfully destroyed such an important project meant that they held more confidence in their abilities. Annabeth did not like it at all.
She stretched her arms above her head before she slumped forward, allowing her forehead to rest on the hard wooden table as she listened to her peers drone on the Rogues and Evelyn Rose. The past few days had been hell for her, even more so than she usually experiences since her kidnapping. Her nightmares were frequent and violent, a mixture of the incident with Luke as well as her vivid memory of the blood-soaked floor and broken sanity.
Percy and Jason were in hushed conversation, a usual occurrence during their conferences. Thalia had explained that the two heirs were often found keeping to themselves when situations turn serious or seeking for the aid of those closest to them. Percy hardly trusted anyone and she understood where he was coming from.
Their makeshift conference room had once been the sole recreational room located near the atrium. It was a large, brightly painted space with working arcade cabinets and pool tables enough to entertain the fifty participants Evelyn had kidnapped. It was, also, the only place within the Demigod's side of the facility wherein the windows were not blocked after the ghouls began roaming the fields. From beyond the glass window, Annabeth could see faint silhouetted images of beastly creatures slobbering and hunch-backed as they scoured for food. She found herself watching them more and more often nowadays, also. They fascinated and terrified her to no end.
"Annabeth," She jerked upward upon hearing her name, whipping her head near-violently to the right only to see Clarisse La Rue looking at her impatiently. Annabeth frowned at the woman but relaxed. "When can we start operation for Briares?"
She shook her head to remain awake and fought back a yawn, "Have Frank and Mark finished recovery?" She received a nod in response. "Leo will begin as soon as he can. There's no telling with him. He's probably already started."
Annabeth's relationship with the daughter of the Marine Corps General was strained but not uncomfortable. On the rare occasions where she was not working on plans for the Demigods or on Briares, she often found herself arguing with Clarisse over brawn versus brain. Outside of said arguments, however, they held mutual respect for one another.
She walked alongside Percy once the meeting was over. Since the incident, he was getting increasingly more adamant in keeping her company. While she appreciated that he was merely trying to protect her from a possible attack, she was after all a major target of the Rogues, oftentimes, she wished she could get the same privacy she used to.
Frank Zhang was seated with his mate, Hazel Levesque, at the other end of the warehouse when Annabeth arrived. Percy excused himself to speak with Leo and she took this as an opportunity to befriend two vital members of their organization. They seemed to be deep in conversation as she approached them and Annabeth, as perceptive as she was, did not miss the slight moment of apprehension that crossed Hazel's face before she plastered her infamous smile.
"I'm guessing the meeting's done?" Frank stated, his shoulders slumped and dark eyes bearing the exhaustion everyone was currently feeling. "Percy asked us to be there but we were trying to finish mitigation as soon as possible. I hope I didn't miss anything important."
Annabeth shook her head, "Not much. It went as it usually did. We have nothing from Evelyn and the Rogues have been quiet since…" She trailed off, refusing to remember the incident. "Anyways, has Leo started rebuilding?"
"Not yet," It had been Hazel to answer now, her strange golden eyes soft yet filled with determination, "He's having a hard time with the materials."
The Lead Strategist deflated at the news. She hadn't actually thought about how Briares' destruction would affect his inevitable rebuilding. Some- no, most- of the damaged materials would be unusable and the amount of scrap metal Eden had provided for them was enough to make one Briares alongside all the other projects Engineering was working on.
Is it even worth putting it back together?
Percy approached them after a few moments of nonsensical conversation. Along with him were Leo and Charlie, both still grieving after what had happened. She understood their position. She was in the exact same one. Her gaze quickly flitted to the door of what used to be Briares' room, vividly remembering the stench and destructive mess Ethan Nakamura left in his wake.
"Beck and I checked inventory and w-we can't make a new Briares, Annabeth. Not with the materials we have. I tried asking for some spares from the others but…" The Hispanic man shook his head, unshed, furious tears welling in his eyes.
Beckendorf fisted his hands, "Since Evelyn started her silence, she hasn't been restocking on tools either. We're not the only ones having trouble. She actually is leaving us to die."
"That doesn't make sense for her. She wants to keep us safe. What's the use of kidnapping us if the safest place in the world is just as shitty as everything around it?" Leo hissed, agitatedly running a hand through his hair.
Annabeth stood straighter, "I don't think Evelyn just left us. She disillusioned herself by thinking that she was the savior meant to save those who will rebuild the world. Nothing that can ever happen will sway her from that. The most probable, and what I have planned most for, is that she is merely thinking of a proper way to deal with both the Rogues and the ghouls without harming us, the Demigods."
Frank frowned, unconvinced. "How are you so sure that she won't turn her back to us either? There's no saying that she'll support the Rogues instead because they practically worship the ground she steps on. What do we have to give to her? Opposition? Hatred? Why get rid of those who love her?"
"Because, as insane as she is, she doesn't think too greatly about herself. She honestly believes that she exists solely to save us. She will save the best of us because we're the best chance the world has. Evelyn and the whole Eden Project know this well."
"We need to relay to the others of what we've accomplished. After everything that's happened, it's not good to be as disconnected as we are now." Percy paused and chewed on his bottom lip, deep in thought. He tilted his head slightly until their eyes met. His gaze was soft but determined. "Have Malcolm and Jake finished setting-up the communication system? It's the best weapon we have against the Rogues."
Annabeth vaguely recalled going over blueprints for radio-like objects for inter-facility communication. It was a project that Percy had specifically entrusted to Malcolm Pace and Jake Mason due to their specific talent in the field. However, the idea had only occurred to them a month ago and, while it would normally not take a long time to create a radio device, they needed to create multiple while considering the current state of their materials and of the lack of radio towers to broadcast the signal.
She shook her head once. "I heard that they're finishing up on the last batch but they haven't finished the tests on the first ones. At the pace they're going, they'll be done within the week."
"Good. That's enough. With that, we won't be completely helpless in case they attack again. If you're right, Annabeth, they would have fully recovered by now."
The others shared looks of both fear and apprehension. If the Rogues manage another large-scale attack, she was not sure if the Demigods could recover. Will could not handle the sheer amount of injured individuals in the infirmary from minor encounters with the enemy. She was sure that, while they overpower the insane in number, they were beginning to lose the drive that had them establish the organization in the first place.
A week passed seamlessly within the Facility. Annabeth had spent the majority of her time coordinating with Leo, Charles, and the rest of the members of Engineering regarding their problem with tools and materials. Regrettably, their best solution is to disassemble the less important of the inventions to give priority to what, essentially, will lead to their salvation. She had tried to appease the disheartened engineers by offering them a substantial position in the construction of Briares and, luckily, most of them had agreed. The others, however, had left the division with evident bitterness in their hearts.
Of course, sacrificing two perfectly good machines was still not enough to rebuild a complex automaton like Briares. Leo was forced to compensate for their lack of intricately designed pieces with a large variety of scrap materials, each hand-crafted to fit their purpose. Annabeth predicts that they could finish a quarter of their original progress with what they have, which frustrated her to no end.
She was seated on her large bed browsing over blueprints alone. Percy, Jason, and Nico had taken it upon themselves to investigate a part of the facility previously restricted by Evelyn Rose for reasons unknown to them. Annabeth knew that her mate was more than capable of protecting himself. However, having Malcolm's new makeshift communication device close-by soothed her agitated nerves only slightly.
It was late into the night and her exhaustion was overpowering. It was not long ago when Percy had left, thus she does not expect him to be back anytime soon. Annabeth did not mind being alone. It was the only time where the chaos inside of her head did not need to compete with the chaos outside of her body. She could remain in her haven, completely oblivious to the shadows beyond her boarded-up window from wandering ghouls, furiously scribbling on drafts until they reach abject perfection.
The radio resting by her hip crackled and the familiar sound of Piper's voice broke her silence. She released a breath she did not realize she was holding and pressed the button to receive the transmission. "Hey, Annabeth. Just wanted to check in."
Annabeth managed a small smile. "I'm fine, Pipes. I'm just finishing up on the designs. Have you heard anything from the boys?"
"No, not yet. Knowing them, they don't want us to know anything until they're absolutely sure of it. I just wish they let us know they're okay." She gargled sound followed her sentiment, indicating a sigh. "It's not... is it just me or do you feel like something's off."
Her hands stalled in folding the plans, turning her attention to the black device. "What are you saying, Piper?"
"I don't know, Annabeth." Her friend's reply was steady despite the sudden heaviness in her surroundings. "I just… I feel that something is horribly wrong but I can't… I don't know what it is."
Annabeth suddenly remembered the same sick feeling in her stomach waking her up from her first bout of dreamless sleep in a while. It was the night when Briares had been destroyed and defiled by the Rogues. She had learned from that night alone to never underestimate human instinct.
Upon her silence, Piper spoke again. "If it's nothing, I'll be glad but it scares me, 'Beth. It might be the boys. It might be something else. Something doesn't sit well with me."
The blonde woman wished she could tell her friend to ignore it but she knew better. "We'll give them an hour. If they're not back by then, we'll try to contact them. If that doesn't work, we'll get Thalia and look for them ourselves." She was surprised by the conviction in her tone. Her rising fear had caused her hands to shake near-violently.
She took a breath and forced herself to relax. There was no use panicking over what might essentially be nothing. There was also no point in believing that nothing will happen. She needed to prepare herself for both possibilities. While she did not want to think of Percy in danger of any kind, she also believed that he, more than anyone, can put up one hell of a fight. She shook her head.
Her sleep was fitful and uncomfortable. She saw herself running through a devastated version of the facility, the ground littered with corpses of people she recognized and others she did not. She could feel her heartbeat thrumming in her ears and her lungs straining for breath. She was trying to escape from something. A dead end. An uncomfortable chill tracing her spine. Darkness.
She awoke with a gasp. The cracks in her boarded windows indicated that it was still nighttime. She felt frantic hands on her shoulders but, due to the darkness, she could only make out a faded silhouette of her visitor. She allowed her tired eyes to adjust further and sat up. Upon realizing who it was, she found herself even more confused.
"Thalia?" She questioned, fumbling for the switch on her bedside table. The sudden light blinded her for a moment and she rubbed her eyes and blinked before returning her gaze to her friend.
She was covered in blood. There were dark red stains on her previously white sheets from where her hands touched them. The front of her shirt was soaked through, as well as the inside of her biceps and forearms. The look on her face was wild with anxiety and fear, with streaks of red on her cheeks from when she wiped her tears.
Annabeth was too horrified to speak. She could not find her words. Her thoughts ran so quickly she could not process what her brain was telling her. Something happened. Something very wrong happened. Percy wasn't here yet. He should be here now, shouldn't he? Her heart leaped out of her chest and she struggled to breathe. No. No.
"Th-Thalia. Ho-wha-who?" Her hands could not stop shaking. She knew what she was going to say but prayed that it was not true. She hoped against all hope that the man she loved was safe, that something else happened. There was so much blood.
"Anna… I'm so sorry." Tears spilled out of the corners of her electric blue eyes. "Will found Nico unconscious two hours ago. Clarisse and Frank followed the blood." She paused to gather her wits and held Annabeth's hand. "It's… Percy, he's… it's really bad."
Something broke inside Annabeth Chase at that moment. Her hands stopped shaking and she could barely feel her frantic heartbeat. Everything was numb for a few long moments, Thalia's comforting words seemed like jumbled nonsense as she spoke. The world around her became quiet.
Then, she fell apart.
Annabeth did not know she was running until she felt the cold linoleum tiles against her bare feet and the wind rushing past her. It smelled slightly metallic, due to the trail of fresh blood on the floor and red handprints against the walls. She did not care if she slipped. She knew she would not feel the pain of falling. The sight of the growing crowd around the infirmary forced her to move faster.
She shoved and pushed through Demigods, screaming out her frustration as she foraged forward. Angry tears blurred her vision while her shallow breaths and pounding chest risked a collapse. Upon realizing that it had been she who so desperately wished to meet with the injured, her peers parted and spared sympathetic looks.
It was too soon. This shouldn't have happened. It hasn't even been three weeks since Lee and Castor were taken away from them, since Briares was destroyed. She had not recovered yet from the anguish she had felt upon seeing her friends dead and her project in pieces. Now the man she loved, the man who was meant to go through hell with her, was on his death bed.
She felt her strong, impervious mind near-collapse, the built-up devastation and fear and anxiety and despair since her kidnapping threatening to escape as she walked through concerned members of an organization meant to protect and defend. What will the Demigods be without their leaders? What will Annabeth do without Percy? She could not bear the thought.
She steeled herself as she approached a sobbing Piper. Leo had an arm around her for comfort, whispering hushed words she remained deaf to as the reality of their situation weighed heavily on their shoulders. Annabeth knew that Calypso was on the other side of the door with Will and all the doctors and aspiring medical professionals within the facility. Annabeth also knew that, despite how technologically advanced this facility is, she could not deny the possibility of their failure and her loss.
Her Percy. Her Seaweed Brain. She will be selfish for once. She will grasp onto Percy Jackson and never let him go. Her beautifully wounded Percy who held her when the bombs first fell. Her Percy who kept her sane and stitched her together as everything around them broke apart. Her Percy who saved her from the world, from Eden, from everyone around her, from herself. Where was he? Why does it have to be them? Always them.
Annabeth reached to open the door. Everything hurt. Someone held her by the wrist. She pulled. Their grip tightened. She pulled harder. She screamed. She cried. She broke. Percy. Not him. Anyone but him. Take me instead.
"No." She found herself saying as she felt restraining hands on her shoulders, guilty, grieving faces of her friends forming a wall between her and the door. "No. Let me in. Please!" She kicked and thrashed as they carried her away, "Let me see him. Percy!"
"We can't." Silena avoided her gaze, her eyes bloodshot from crying but her beautiful face was set in a determination Annabeth was familiar with. "Annabeth, if you go in there, any chance they have in saving him will be lost. You have to trust Will."
Annabeth realized how pathetic she must look at that moment. Percy would not want her like this. He needed her to be strong. He needed her to trust him, to trust Will Solace. Percy Jackson will pull through and, when he does, she will make him pay for worrying her. She relaxed in Beckendorf's arms, allowing him to loosen his grip around her enough that her feet, once again, touched the floor. Her legs felt weak and her vision was blurred around the edges but that did not stop her from trudging back to the infirmary, stumbling slightly due to her sudden light-headedness. She needed to be close to him.
Piper must have run out of tears as she was merely resting her head against the wall, staring at the ceiling as she listened to the frantic sounds of doctors giving orders and rushing about with their equipment through the thin double doors. Annabeth had only realized that the sound of chaos was comforting. It meant that they were still alive, that they were trying.
She did not ask what happened. It was not the time to dwell on the details. She will know soon, not now. It was a solemn moment for both of them as Annabeth fought off the worry. Percy and Jason and Nico will survive this. When they do, the Rogues will receive retribution worthy of hell itself.
Till then, she focused on the beeping of the machines and the frantic shuffling of feet.