Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Thirty-Five

The Athena Cabin Has All The Solutions

I expected to be charged, but instead, Kronos' troops started pulling back, making no attempt to get Andee back. I didn't dwell on it for long before scooping Andee's unconscious form and started running backwards, keeping an eye on the enemy just to be sure that no one tried anything all of a sudden.

The others looked at me and I roared, "GO!" That set all of my fellow campers in motion, helping anyone who was injured and rushing back to the Plaza. "Get the other groups watching the entrances to pull back as soon as they can. Something weird is going on but I think Andee has just inadvertently bought us some more time."

Malcolm and Thalia nodded, instantly sprinting to go find the other groups and update them.

The Apollo campers beat me to the Plaza and were waiting in the hotel room before I had even reached the hotel. As soon as they saw Andee, they whisked her away behind locked doors to start trying to heal her. The other groups started trailing in one by one, asking what was going on. Annabeth told them to wait until everyone had gathered.

All of the campers gathered in the living room area, looking to me to tell them what was going on. "Kronos has been trying to invade Andee's mind for a long time now, and he was finally successful on the Princess Andromeda. He was using her as a secret weapon, but I think his plan went sideways. Andee fully intended to kill me and anyone else who got in her way, but I think I managed to get her to remember who she was. Kronos for the time being has pulled his troops back. I don't know why, but we should be on full alert for another attack. It wouldn't surprise me if he was getting ready to attack us while our defenses our down right now."

"How do we know Andee remembers who she is? She could be faking it to get inside our defenses," Jake Mason pointed out.

"She was given a necklace from her father when all of this started to show what state the wearer's soul is in. Also, her eyes were gold when she was under Kronos' control. They're naturally green, the same color they turned when I…" How could I tell everyone here that I ran my sword through Andee's heart?

Luckily, Lee came out of the room before I had to continue. He looked unusually pale and hard dark circles under his eyes. Everyone turned to look at him and he ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a stream of air. "It's bad, really bad, but she's going to live," Lee said as Annabeth and I approached him. "It's one thing to heal physical injuries but it's something completely different to heal someone's mind. It's gone. Everything…it's like a blank slate."

"So she won't remember anything?" I asked, my throat constricting. Every hope I had for getting Andee – my Andee – back again were going down the tubes.

"If she were anyone else, she wouldn't. But because she's Andee, every part of her automatically heals. So her mind will heal, and our job is to make sure that it heals properly, with all of her memories intact," Lee said.

I looked past him at the door. It was the only thing keeping me from being with her right now. "Can I see her?"

Lee shook his head. "She's extremely fragile right now. One little distraction, anything that could wake her up and she's gone. As in, back to the mind of a newborn baby."

It was petrifying that that was even a possibility. Even though we physically had her back, we may never see the old Andee again. "And if she makes a full recovery?"

Lee sighed, running his hand through his hair again. "Even if she makes a full recovery, all her control will be gone. It's a different kind of memory, not something done with her mind per se. She'll have to be kept under sedation under we can figure out some sort of solution or she'll most likely destroy everything and everyone."

That was why no one had been too concerned when Andee had broken out of Kronos' spell. He had planned it all along. He knew that even if he lost her and the control he had over her, she would no longer be able to control her abilities. She could kill everyone here without ever meaning to. She was Kronos' version of a Greek fire bomb.

"We'll figure something out," Annabeth assured both Lee and me. "I'll gather everyone from the Athena and Hephaestus cabin and we'll come up with something. There has to be something from Daedalus'' work for a situation like this."

Annabeth rushed off to gather everyone to work on the task. "Thank you," Lee said suddenly, "for bringing her back. Even if you had to stab her to do it. She's back, that's what matters, yeah?"

I nodded, not sure what else to do. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get that image of her out of my head.

As everyone began to rest and work, I waited. I sat down right outside the door and watched as her brothers took separate shifts to heal her and make sure she would retain all her memories. It took hours and as tired as I felt, I stayed awake. I needed to know she was okay. I couldn't hear anything going on in the next room, only saw her brothers as they walked out every half hour or so, looking pale and sickly.

"We got it!" Annabeth shouted, running into the room holding a pair of golden bracelets. When she got closer, I saw that both bangle-style bracelets were inlaid with different precious stones and had different designs etched into them. Lee materialized next to me as Annabeth held out the two bracelets for us to look at. "Daedalus had a design for a pair of bracelets that can inhibit any minor god's abilities. We altered the design so that it would only diminish the wearer's abilities, rather than stop them, allowing the wearer to still use their powers, just at a more controllable and functional level. The Athena cabin found and altered the spell, and the Hephaestus cabin made the actual bracelets and inlaid the spell into them."

"Why two bracelets?" I asked.

"In Ancient Greek times, it was more common to wear two matching bracelets," Annabeth said. "For the spell to completely work, it has to be split between two apparatuses and both must be on the subject and locked in place for the magic to work. Otherwise –"

A huge blast of fire and electricity came from the room Andee was in. "- that," Annabeth said, looking wide-eyed at the door.

Will Solace came sprinting out of the room before yelling, "The sedative's worn off and Andee's coming to! We need to evacuate now!"

No one needed to be told twice. The campers were speeding out of the room, grabbing anything they might need on the way and helping anyone who was injured and falling behind. The room was getting hotter with each passing second.

"There goes that plan," Lee said, staring at the ground dejectedly before cursing. "We'd better get out of here and figure something else out."

"Wait," I said, looking back at the door. Smoke was starting to come out from the cracks between the door and the doorway. I could hear a clap of thunder from inside the room. "I can get the bracelets on her."

"Are you crazy?" Lee asked.

"You will burn to death, Percy!" Annabeth said.

"I'm not leaving her!" I said.

"I know you've been on this weird trip of luck lately, but you are not invincible!"

"Actually, I kind of am?" I said and they looked at me incredulously. "How do you think I've been able to take so many hits from Andee and Kronos so far and not be dead?" A look of realization dawned upon them both.

"But how?" Annabeth asked.

"I bathed in the River Styx and got the Curse of Achilles." They both looked at me like I was crazy again. "Long story. I'll explain it later when there's more time. But right now," I said, taking the bracelets from Annabeth, "you two need to get to safety, and I'm going to get Andee."

Lee and Annabeth still looked unsure, but nodded and jogged out of the room. I stared at the door for a few moments, watching flames licking the door and hearing thunder roaring from inside the room. I took a deep breath, walked forward and started to open the door. "Get out of here!"

"Andee, it's me," I shouted over the booming thunder coming from inside the room.

"Percy, leave!" she said as I opened what little was left of the door. She was sitting up on a bed, curled up in a ball, tears streaming down her face. Everything in the room was coated in a thick smog. "Please, Percy, get out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Andee," I said seriously. "Look at me." She shook her head, holding her face in her hands as she wept. This was the most intense heat I had ever felt in my life, and once again, I was immensely grateful to have the curse of Achilles, because otherwise I'd be dead. "Andee, look at me." Her pale green eyes met mine, and they were the greenest I had ever seen them. Like she had been completely purified.

"Percy, you have to go! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill everyone!" Andee screamed.

"You're not going to hurt me, Andee, but you have to control it," I said calmly, getting nearer and nearer. "Just for a few seconds."

"I can't," she cried. "Please Percy, just leave me. You're going to die."

"I can't leave until you stop," I said calmly, moving another few steps closer and narrowly avoiding a bolt of lightning. "Just focus on me, 'kay?"

"I can't," she whispered. "It's too much."

I could see on her face and in her eyes how overwhelming everything was. "You've done it before, Andee. Focus," I said, and even though she was refusing to believe she could do it, the fires were getting milder and the storm above her was slowly starting to calm down.

I quickly clasped one bracelet on her wrist, locking it in place before doing the other. She watched carefully, still crying as the second bracelet was clamped shut and locked into place. In an instant, everything stopped. She looked around in shock and after a few moments of stunned silence, she leapt towards me, wrapping her arms toward me and holding me tightly as she started to cry again. At least this time it was tears of happiness.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered into her hair as I held her. "I'm so, so sorry."

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about," Andee said, wiping her eyes as she pulled back and looked at me. "You brought me back."

I cupped her face in my hands and took a few moments to just take in her face. "I love you so much, Andee le Fay, and I will never let anything happen to you ever again," I said before closing the distance between us once more, this time with my lips on hers. Her hands wound themselves in my hair as she brought me closer and I smiled. This was my Andee. My Andee was back and she was going to be okay.

Suddenly she reached down and lightly touched the small of my back. A shiver ran down my spine as she touched my one vulnerable spot and she pulled away to look at me. "Oh Percy, what have you done?" she whispered. Her eyes were intense as they gazed into mine.

"I had to do it – it's the only way I'll be able to beat Kronos," I said softly. "It was the only way I could get you back."

"You're so stupid," Andee said, punching me in the shoulder.

"Ow! I still feel pain, you know," I said.

"Good," Andee said, hitting me again and sticking her tongue out at me. "Maybe if I hit you enough you'll realize how stupid you are."

"I love you too, Andee," I said in a sarcastic tone, but I truly meant it. And I was so happy I got to say it again. "How did you know?"

"About the curse?" Andee asked and I nodded. "After you put the bracelets on me, I was ready to start to heal you but your body was different. There was only one little area on the small of your back that was the same as before. Your new heel."

"Did you see that when you were…you know…?"

"I don't remember a lot of what happened when I was there, but she wasn't trying to heal you in any way – quite the opposite – so she wouldn't have seen what I have," Andee said quietly, a faraway look in her eyes. "Do the others know about it yet?"

I shook my head. "I haven't gotten that far yet. It's been…well, it's been hectic to say the least." Andee nodded, pressing her forehead against mine. "I'm…Andee, I'm so happy you're here and safe."

"Me too," Andee said, letting out a deep sigh. "I love you."

"I love you too, sunshine."

Andee smiled and kissed me, and I just wrapped my arms around her as tight as possible, keeping her close because I was never letting her go again.

"Are you guys done yet or can we actually come in and see Andee?" Will asked, a group of Apollo campers all standing around him. Andee was up on her feet in a second and running towards her brothers and hugging them. There were a lot more tears as she hugged her siblings, Annabeth, and the other campers she had grown so close to in her time at Camp Half-Blood.

I couldn't stop smiling as I watched her, out of my mind with relief and happiness that she was back and safe. There would be no more of those terrible nightmares and no more worrying about her being taken because that part was over. He wouldn't take over her mind again.

Suddenly Andee's face changed. It went from happiness to sudden realization in five seconds flat. "I know what they're planning."