PERI'S POV
"Can't you make this hunk of junk go any faster?" Percy demanded for the umpteenth time.
Festus whirred and clicked furiously, blowing a huge column of fire into the air. The mechanical dragon's head bared its massive fangs ferociously. I didn't need to speak automaton to know that our normally docile dragon was getting pretty irritated with the son of the sea god's insults.
"Listen, bud, I know you're anxious to find Annabeth," I put my hand on Percy's shoulder. "But pissing off our dragon friend here is not the wave. Trust me."
Percy scowled and shrugged my hand off his shoulder, storming off. I understood his impatience and frustration, but everyone was already doing all they could. Leo had the Argo at full speed, and I was using what little energy I had left in the tank to increase our speed even further. What more did he want?
His girlfriend safe in his arms probably.
Right. Duh.
"How far are we from the Emmanuel Building?" I asked once more.
"We should be arriving in a few minutes!" Leo called back from the interface.
"See, Percy?" I yelled over to where he was sulking. "Shouldn't be too much— whoa!"
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hazel clutch her temples and crumple to the floor at the same time my knees hit the deck. Through the waves of... I don't even know pure energy? I registered Leo calling my name, but he sounded light years away. It was like the most intense sugar high I've ever felt. Every cell in my body felt electrified and awakened, a blinding golden light overtaking my vision for a solid second before it passed just as quickly.
When I came back from whatever the hell that was, the first thing I was greeted with was Leo's soft, bewildered gaze. He helped me up as Nico and Frank were helping Hazel to her feet. The daughter of Pluto and I locked eyes, a sense of understanding between us. I know she felt whatever the hell I just did.
"Where'd you go?" Leo asked me, the rest of the crew looking just as confused.
"I felt this intense wave of energy," I struggled to find the words to describe the sensation.
"Like an ancient, powerful metal was just uncovered," Hazel supplied.
"The Arthena Parthenos," Percy breathed. "Annabeth must've found it."
"Well, now we know exactly where she is," I nodded to Hazel and together we were able to pinpoint Annabeth's exact location underground.
It wasn't long before the Argo II was hovering about forty feet over the parking lot Percy had mentioned. Hazel could sense the Arthena Parthenos below the surface, and even I could smell the huge mass of Imperial Gold beneath the earth. Coach Hedge wasted no time in firing the ballista despite the expensive cars in the way. Hell, I think the satyr was aiming at the foreign cars on purpose— something about bonus points.
I've gotta admit, it was pretty satisfying watching the earth be blasted apart by the war trireme. It was almost like a fuck you to the earth goddess herself.
Cars tumbled right through the gaping hole in the ground like stones in a lake. Beneath the hole we had created was an even greater chasm that looked like it went to the center of the earth. I got a strange chill when I peered into the seemingly bottomless pit. The Athena Parthenos could be seen below towering in all its ivory glory, Imperial Gold shining proudly. At its feet was a small form with curly blonde hair.
Percy had tossed a rope ladder over the side of the ship and was already climbing down. "Annabeth!"
"Here!" She sobbed.
My heart swelled with happiness. Her ankle was in a splint, but she was alive and that's all that mattered. This whole ordeal would be behind us soon.
By the time I made my way down the rope ladder, everyone had gathered around Annabeth. Percy reluctantly released her from his embrace but kept his fingers interlocked with hers.
"Your leg." Piper knelt next to her and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"
She started to explain. Talking seemed difficult, but as she went along, her words came more easily. Percy didn't let go of her hand, which I could tell also made her feel more confident. When she finished, our faces were slack with amazement.
"Gods of Olympus," I said. "You did all that alone. With a broken ankle."
"Well…some of it with a broken ankle."
Percy grinned. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera—Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"
Everyone gazed at the statue in awe.
"What do we do with her?" Frank asked. "She's huge."
"We'll have to take her with us to Greece," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."
"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," Hazel quoted. "Won with pain from a woven jail." She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."
Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. "Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."
I imagined the Athena Parthenos jutting from our trireme with a sign across her pedestal that read: WIDE LOAD. The thought almost brought a smile to my lips.
"What about you guys?" Annabeth asked. "What happened with the giants?"
Percy told her about rescuing Nico, the appearance of Bacchus, and the fight with the twins in the Colosseum. Nico didn't say much. The poor guy looked like he'd been wandering through a wasteland for six weeks. Percy explained what Nico had found out about the Doors of Death, and how they had to be closed on both sides. Even with sunlight streaming in from above, Percy's news made the cavern seem dark again.
"So the mortal side is in Epirus," she said. "At least that's somewhere we can reach."
Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."
The word seemed to echo through the chamber. The pit behind us exhaled a cold blast of air. That's when I knew with certainty. The chasm did go straight to the Underworld.
Percy must have felt it too. He guided Annabeth a little farther from the edge. Her arms and legs trailed spider silk like a bridal train.
Percy began, "Bacchus mentioned something about my voyage being harder than I expected. Not sure why—"
The chamber groaned. The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on one of Arachne's support cables, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling.
"Secure it!" Annabeth cried. The look in her eyes was desperate, and I realized that if the Athena Parthenos fell, all of her hard work would be for nothing.
We understood immediately.
"Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get us to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."
Frank transformed into a giant eagle, and the three of us soared toward the ship.
Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. He turned to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and shot into the air, meeting Leo and I on the deck.
"This floor won't last!" Hazel warned. "The rest of us should get to the ladder."
Plumes of dust and cobwebs blasted from holes in the floor. The spider's silk support cables trembled like massive guitar strings and began to snap. Hazel lunged for the bottom of the rope ladder and gestured for Nico to follow, but Nico was in no condition to sprint.
My hands glowed with a golden light as I used my powers to help the Argo II work faster. Grappling lines shot from the warship at rocketing speeds. One lassoed Athena's neck like a loose. Leo shouted orders at the helm as Frank and Jason flew frantically from line to line, trying to secure them.
Nico has just reached the rope ladder when I heard Annabeth gasp. My head turned in time to see her stumble to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked her.
"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"
My brows knit in confusion. Cut her ankle?
Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either. Then something yanked Annabeth backward and dragged her toward the pit. Percy lunged. He grabbed her arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.
"Help them!" Hazel yelled.
I glimpsed Nico hobbling in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder. Our other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel's cry was lost in the general shouting and the rumbling of the cavern.
I realized all too late what was happening.
Annabeth was tangled in the spider silk, and it was dragging her, along with Percy, down towards the pit.
My blood ran ice cold.
The pit to Tartarus.
My mind reeled. Everything was happening so fast. Desperately, I tried to summon a Celestial Bronze sword, but instead a butter knife appeared in my hand.
I wanted to fucking scream— what's wrong with me?!
You cannot win, said a voice in my head.
I climbed down the rope ladder anyway, gripping the pitiful little Celestial Bronze butter knife between my teeth. I could hear Leo calling my name, but there was no time to explain. I raced down the rope ladder as fast as I could, hitting the ground running.
"Hold on!" I cried out, racing to where Nico was outstretched over the edge.
The entire time, my brain was screaming what the fuck are you gonna do with a butter knife.
I kept running.
In my haste, I tripped over a strand of the endless spider silk, and the butter knife slipped from my grasp. It clattered to the ground before disappearing in a puff of gold.
No!
"The other side, Nico!" Percy's voice called from over the edge. "We'll see you there! Understand?"
Nico's eyes widened. "But—"
"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"
"I— I will."
"No, Percy," I begged, tears in my eyes as I peered over the edge of the chasm.
They were already a good twenty feet down. There was no way Nico or I could reach them.
Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.
I never heard them land, only the sounds of my own desperate screaming.