Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.
Once again, Annabeth found herself at the entrance of Camp Half-Blood. After the abrupt visit from Lady Artemis, she hastened to pack her belongings and race immediately back to the camp.
When she bid her goodbyes to the Hunters, Annabeth noticed a strange glint in Thalia's eyes. She had no time to assess it, and before she knew it, she had arrived.
Fighting off the familiar sense of dread and excitement, she walked through the arch bearing the name of the camp.
Everything was the same, and yet, everything was different. Campers were carrying out the same activities as usual, but their expressions seemed pained and their movements were jerky. No one seemed to be able to stand still. There wasn't even a glance in her direction, despite Annabeth being a legend to demigods. The theft of the Fleece was affecting them seriously.
Suddenly, a path was cleared to the right of Annabeth. A few seconds later, teenagers wearing full armor marched in perfect formation. To the borders to guard. Annabeth realized.
Realizing the urgency and full impact because the Golden Fleece was missing, Annabeth broke out into full speed and ran to the Big House.
o.O.o
Chiron was anxiously waiting at the porch. He paced back and forth, not caring that his two back legs were still stuck into the old wheelchair.
Annabeth ran up the steps to the porch.
Alerted by the sound, Chiron turned.
"Annabeth! You must hurry!" With that, he turned and went inside the Big House.
When she followed him in, she saw that the whole house had turned into a makeshift war room. There were plans and blueprints stuck on every corner of the wall, and a huge table had been brought to the room for the campers to plan and strategize for the incoming monster attacks. The table already bore abuse from probably very ADHD demigods. There were knife scratches, dent marks, even broken edges. And an occasion semicircle mark that curiously looked like they were made from nails.
A boy had his back turned to her who was wearing a breastplate. A couple of other veteran demigods and head counselors were with him and discussing something in a heated conversation.
Chiron went to the head of the table, and Annabeth quietly deposited her things in a counter in the room.
The boy who had his back turned spun around. It was Percy. Annabeth froze. Percy seemed equally surprised as well but quickly transformed his face into a blank expression.
Every since Artemis had come and Annabeth had broken down in front of her, she had to be careful to not dwell in particular things, or it might shatter the brief truce she had with her head. Often, she would be blinded by a memory. It was different from her old memory attacks. Those were hostile, these were more...passive.
Unable to hold the awkward contact, Annabeth dropped her gaze first. She itched to go look at the blueprints on the wall but there were more important matters to discuss.
She took her place on the opposite side of Percy. Annabeth was ashamed to admit it, but she refused to look at Percy. Chiron gave a short introduction.
"Everyone this is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. You may know her as one of the Seven."
Chiron must have been really worried. Being abrupt was not usually his style. Well no one could have done any better. Camp Half-Blood was his responsibility and it was his duty to protect it, even with the cost of his life.
He went straight to the point. "We must immediately dispatch a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was found missing seven days ago when our dragon Peleus was heard making a racket. By the time the campers arrived to the hill, the Fleece was missing. The only thing left was a decapitated head of a snake." With those words, Chiron held up a clear plastic bag with a disgustingly decaying mass of flesh. If Chiron hadn't told them it was a snake, Annabeth wouldn't have been able to distinguish it.
A stout boy with a very red face crossed his burly arms.
"We already know all of this," he said scowling.
"Patience Buford. I am only informing Annabeth," he said.
Annabeth felt déjà vu. This place, setting, and the people reminded her of the old room where the quests were decided in her day. The room with the ping pong table. Seymour on the wall munching sausages.
She decided to speak up. "Lady Artemis has told me that I would be the member of that quest. Who else is to come with me?"
A voice piped up. "Because you were the original member of the first quest."
Annabeth turned her head the owner of the voice. It was Eve.
"Yeah," she said softly. She fought to push back the memories that had arrived with Eve's statement. She would not lose control now.
"I will go." A voice interrupted the silence.
She knew who it was before she even saw him. Of course it was Percy. His infallible loyalty. He may not be the boy who had loved her a hundred years ago, but they were identical. Annabeth almost scoffed at the thought of it. It was absurd. But yet, here was proof right in front of her eyes.
Surprisingly, no one questioned him. Considering it wasn't long ago since he joined Camp Half-Blood and there were more experienced demigods, something had occurred after she left that made him in a higher position than the rest of the demigods.
Chiron nodded. "Alright. Who wants to fill the last position for this quest?"
No one offered.
Finally, Percy cleared his throat. "May I suggest Marty?"
Shouts immediately erupted.
"What! He's too young!"
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"You've seen him around! Do you think a boy like him can survive on a quest?"
The last statement seemed particularly harsh.
Percy angrily retorted, "He only wants to prove himself! And he is a good kid. You people have never seen the true side of him, because all you do is push him around and never consider his feelings. And I don't see any of you volunteering!"
"He sounds fine."
All eyes trained on Annabeth. She normally didn't falter under attention, but this situation proved otherwise.
"Let me meet him," she said persuasively. "Then I'll decide. I am the leader of this quest right?" She directed that to the Chiron. He nodded, making her statement valid.
Percy scowled, but agreed. The others briefly argued, but under Annabeth's infamous steely glare, they coincided.
Annabeth mentally braced herself, then beckoned Percy. There was still fire left in his eyes from the argument, but he followed her out of the Big House.
"So where is this Marty?"
"He's another one of the unclaimed," Percy replied shortly.
Unclaimed? Assuming Percy was still unclaimed, that meant that Annabeth would have to lead to demigods who still did not know their godly parentage. Not that she objected.
"Are you still unclaimed?" Annabeth asked.
"Yeah."
Sensing this conversation was not going to last any longer, she shut up. After an uncomfortable silence, she asked where they were going.
"To the stables. He enjoys taking care of the pegasi and you can always find him there." He elaborated.
Annabeth's first glimpse of him seemed pleasant. He seemed to have short black hair, and when he turned his head she saw that he was Asian. And very adorable. Annabeth could tell that when he grew older, he would be very handsome.
Marty's face broke into a smile when he saw Percy, but then his jaw dropped when he spotted Annabeth. His eyes grew larger.
"Wait, how old is he?" Annabeth whispered to Percy.
"Fourteen."
Marty unsteadily walked toward them. He tripped over a small jutting rock and stumbled. Annabeth stifled a laugh. They were right about him being clumsy.
"Are you the Annabeth Chase?"
"Um, yes?"
"Oh my gods! I am your biggest fan! I came like, right after you left, but after hearing so many stories about the Seven, I had to research! But like, Piper McLean is my favorite, but she's really old now but I heard that sometimes, in really rare occasions they come-"
Marty rambled on. Meanwhile, Annabeth was occupied with her own thoughts. She hadn't thought of Piper for years. Or the others for that matter. She had lost contact with them a few years back. Annabeth had sometimes visited them, watched them have their own children, and watching them grow. She had seen them grow older, and start seeing the white streaks appearing in their hair, just like what she had when she held up the sky. But the streaks began multiplying.
Like a bolt of lightning, Annabeth suddenly remembered a fact she tried to keep hidden within the depths of her mind and had almost forgot. She had deliberately lost contact with them. It wasn't an accident. Annabeth had grown fearful. That they too would soon die. Piper and Jason. Hazel and Frank. So she had broken contact with them. She wouldn't, no, couldn't have survived their deaths.
And her solution had worked. Until now. Annabeth didn't know if they were even alive or not. But from Marty's rambles, it was obvious that they still were. But what would they think of her? A coward would be one of them.
And as for Leo, no one knew. He had disappeared right after the battle with the giants ended. Search party after search party yielded to no results. Even Annabeth's first few years as a Hunter was dedicated to finding him. Nevertheless, it was a hopeless cause.
But deep inside herself, she knew he was alive. Leo was there, somewhere. Annabeth could bet on her fingers that he was. But after relentless searching, it was clear he wanted to be alone. So Annabeth and the others respected his decision. But they never stopping missing him.
And of course, Piper never totally forgave Annabeth for leaving them and becoming a Hunter. She had hoped that one day, Annabeth could get over Percy, and move on.
Which was never to happen.
They'd given up their lives and futures. The Seven. Nothing was the same after the Giant War. For the sake of peace, and that future generations would be able to live and flourish without evil in the world. So they would never have to know that at one point, they could have never been born. Annabeth had lost her heart for that cause. Percy lost his life. Leo was gone. Hazel, Frank, Piper and Jason would forever be scarred. The world moved on though. The gods did, eventually. But evil could never be eradicated. There had to be a balance. And right now it was perfect.
Except for her.
Annabeth slowly escaped out of these glum thoughts, for fear of disturbing too much of her current fragile mind, and focused on the conversation in the world above. Percy was staring at her intensely, and lightly nudged Marty to stop talking.
Annabeth smiled a tiny smile. She already liked Marty. He reminded her of a certain someone, but she couldn't remember who it was.
"Okay Marty, I have one question for you. It is hypothetical, so don't get too alarmed or take it personally. Are you ready?"
Marty nodded excitedly.
"If you had to save the world, would you risk and give up your own life to save it?"
Percy started, but Annabeth shushed him. Marty seemed deep in thought.
"Yes," he said simply. Almost with no hesitation.
"If my single life can save billion other people, isn't it worth it?" Marty asked solemnly.
"Alright. You're in," Annabeth said, nodding.
"In what?" Marty asked confusedly.
"Wait that's it? No interviews or anything? You just accept him with a single question?"
Percy exclaims.
Annabeth raised her eyebrow at him. "I thought, you're the one who wanted him to be on this quest."
Percy sputtered, "I know, but-"
"For your information, I can see what kind of person Marty is," Annabeth snapped. "And I can deem him suitable for our needs."
Marty watched this exchange with even more wider eyes.
"What do you mean quest? Wait, can someone please explain to me what is going on?"
Percy and Annabeth turned to Marty.
"Well Marty, looks like you're going on a quest with us," Percy said sarcastically.
Marty jumped five feet in the air. "Wait, really? ARE YOU SERIOUS!" He practically yelled.
Annabeth said warningly, "It's going to be dangerous. Are you su-"
"Of course!" He shouted. "Do I need to bring anything? Any kind of special gadgets? Or-"
Percy abruptly grabbed his arm and pushed him to the stable that was farthest from where they were standing.
While Annabeth stood watching them afar, Percy and Marty were engaged in a heated argument, and Marty seemed to be winning. He had his arms crossed and was shaking his head stubbornly. Finally, Percy ran his hand over his head and grabbed it angrily.
Marty ran back to Annabeth. "Sorry 'bout that. He's protective you know."
Annabeth sighed. "I know how that feels." Then she said to Marty, "But Percy isn't wrong. Quests are exactly guaranteed that you'll survive them. Are you really sure?"
Marty raised defiant eyes to her, "Of course," he said sounding almost insulted.
Annabeth laughed. "Alright kiddo. See you at dinner okay?"
Marty nodded, then scampered off, while yelling, "Bye!"
Percy still had his hand in his hair when he slowly walked up to her.
"I thought you were the one who wanted him to go on the quest," Annabeth said.
Instead of replying, he tugged his hair. He then sighed. "Fine. I admit that I didn't think of it this far."
Annabeth put her hands on her hips. "So you're saying you volunteered Marty without even thinking he could do it? Do you even know how you sound right now?"
"Yes!" He shouted. He released his hair.
"Are you saying yes to my first question or second?" Annabeth inquired.
Percy threw an exasperated look. "What do you think?" He said scathingly. "He's capable of coming with us, that I'm sure, but-"
Annabeth interrupted, "Give him a chance, for Athena's sake. You said earlier that Marty was a good kid, that he only wanted to prove himself, that you saw his true self!
Percy started getting red. "Stop,"
"Stop what? I'm done!"
Percy rounded up on Annabeth.
"Exactly what is your problem? Are you bipolar? Aren't those even curable these days? You go ki-"
Annabeth shoved her hand on his mouth. No one was around the stables but it didn't hurt to be safe.
A tingling sensation went down her arm, but she ignored it.
His lips were soft on her palm. She didn't know why, but all that she could think at that moment was that bittersweet kiss they shared at that capture-the-flag.
Percy broke Annabeth's haze when he wrenched her arm off his mouth. "What was that?!"
She curled her fingers on the palm that was touching Percy's lips.
"Please. Don't talk about that."
"What do you mean?"
"Percy I beg you." She looked at him hopelessly. When he opened his mouth to retort, she just yelled. "It was mistake. A mistake. So stop bothering me!"
Percy was taken back. Hurt flashed in his eyes. "So you're saying what I felt was nothing? That is was a mistake?" His voice rose. "I guess what people say about you is true. Despite being a hero, you are a heartless person!" With those words, he ran off.
Yes I am heartless. And I am trying so hard to convince myself that what I said to you is true. That I felt nothing. I don't know what I feel for you, but it can't be that. Not after him.
Repeating everything in her head, one hand grasped her heart. She was a Hunter of Artemis. She would never, ever, fall in love. Never again.
They were going to leave for the quest at the crack of dawn. Hopefully he would get his act together before then. Because she was going to leave for the Fleece with or without him.