A/N Thanks soooooooo much for all the reviews! Here's the final chapter, I updated as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Percy Jackson, *shrugs*

Annabeth III

Annabeth was with the seven in Jason's house. It had been two days since he and Percy fought out their frustrations, and now they were spending the afternoon planning strategies for the upcoming game of Siege. When they had first met after Jason and Percy got some rest and healing, the first topic on their agenda had been when they left. While it was all good that they were working out the kinks of teamwork, Gaea and her giants weren't going to wait for them. Still, they had to get a feel for how each of them responded in the field, and therefore the delay had been put in place. They were going to leave this evening, but first, they had to get past this hurdle, and it wasn't to be taken lightly. Annabeth wouldn't have believed the speed and quality of the Roman Fortresses if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, and currently had no trouble believing that Rome had been built in two days. This War 'Game' was going to be tough to say the least.

The objective was to get into the center of the Fortress. The running scenario was that one of the Giants had found something in the archeology that merited an encampment. They were to get in, steal their banner, and escape with it. They were also under the handicap of not actually being able to kill those that got in their way. The Fortress had an outer wall, with a gate they were forced to build. The Field of Mars was devoid of any forestry, so the wall ran around the entirety of the fortress. Hazel had informed them that it was well entrenched and fortified, and despite the fact that Roman Legionnaires frowned on archery, they had no qualms posting the Hunters of Artemis on the outer wall. The was was braced entirely underground with inner fortifications being the same as the outer fortifications, Reyna was taking no chances. Inside the outer wall was bare earth, with enough space between the outer wall and the center to fit a cohort comfortably. The five cohorts were going to be evenly spaced behind the perimeter, with their intelligence being courtesy of Frank and an eagle he knew as well as his own body, he could see the markers being placed, they weren't the only ones at the planning table. They couldn't gather any more data as the Hunters of Artemis had taken up their posts and resolutely cleared the air of all native flying wildlife. They had been briefed on Franks abilities and weren't allowing any animals close. Annabeth looked up from her sketches to see how everyone else was doing. Frank was looking at sketches next to her, but his mind would show its true worth when things went south in the field, as they always did. Jason and Percy looked like they were discussing Roman building styles, their weak points and how much force would be needed to bring them down. Leo was tinkering with a machine for Piper, who it looked like commissioned a megaphone-type device to enhance her powers of charm-speak. Hazel was meditating in a corner, gathering what intelligence she could from the earth, but she looked like she was tiring and her eyes fluttered open. Jason and Percy seemed to come to an accord and they stood up. Percy stepped forward "Alright, I think we can start on a plan!"

Percy. Annabeth never realised how much of her life he was until he disappeared. She had scoured Camp Half-Blood from top to bottom searching for him when he had vanished, never giving it a second thought that he had meant that much to her. It was interesting, objectively, when one looked at their relationship, as she wasn't the defenseless maiden that a hero like him would typically have to save. Then again, he wasn't a typical hero, he had a heart of gold and defied the gods at every turn, even turning down godhood when they had offered it. She remembered one of the nights that they had apent snuggled together at night where they would talk about the simplest parts of their loves the other had missed out on, and she fully agreed with Echidna when she said that they didn't make heroes like they used to, they made them better. She supposed it was the trust that they shared that made their relationship so special, as simply dating didn't mean anything anymore, not with ritual heart-breakers from the Aphrodite looking for decent guys to destroy. But then again, Annabeth wasn't the other end of the spectrum either, she wasn't sappy and romantic, she was as likely to whack Percy over the head as kiss him. It was that they had shared so much with each other, like how they knew each other so well as to fight seamlessly together, to even guess accurately what the other was thinking under most circumstances. He was her Seaweed Brain, and she was his Wise Girl. When she looked at it that way, it seemed no surprise then how distraught she was when he disappeared. She basically marshalled all of Camp on the search to look for him, she was always on some search-party or other. She remembered begging at the feet of Lady Artemis to permit her Hunters look for him, the boy that went against everything known and won the favour of the boy-hating Huntress. She remembered Clarisse of all people finding her when she disappeared in a right state and reminiscing with her the delights of pounding Kelp Head. She remembered tossing down her book on architecture, when it failed to engage her. She remembered shutting down Daedalus' laptop in frustration. She remembered spacing out of different plans that she could once focus on with undivided attention to lose her self in memory of Percy.

"Ahem." Shaking her head to clear it and looking down in an attempt to hide her blush, Annabeth tried to hide from the concerned eyes looking at her. This was supposed to stop now that she had found Percy again. This was never meant to happen in the first place, she was the daughter of Athena! Athena was a brain child, as she was, but swore off physical companionship and emotional needs as leeches on her precious mind. Her mind seemed to be all that her mother had, and therefore all that she could pass on, but still, why was it so hard to balance and be like a normal person? She didn't need her mother whispering in her mind to tell her that normal people weren't as intelligent as her, and many gods fit that description. Celibacy and a heart of stone were the only ways to ensure a healthy logical mind that saw what others missed. Still, looking discreetly at Percy as they discussed tactics, it was never that simple for demigods. When she arrived, she had all but given up on ever finding the Percy that she loved again. She was becoming emotionless from the trauma, and probably would have ended up like a sentient computer if she had continued down that path. Seeing him in those Praetor's robes from the Argo II was a jolt to the heart, which she quickly stamped down on, she would not let Hera hurt her anymore. When he spoke in those unforgiving Roman tones, it was easy to separate the two people in he mind, and squash that tiny bit of hope that lurked despite her best efforts. It was everything else that was excruciatingly painful. The oh-so-familiar mannerisms and signals that were so much a part of him shone through, and twisted her heart. It was in the way he walked, despite the Roman uniform steps, it was in the way he turned his head, his facial twitches and his inflection. Despite how Roman it all was, she could see her Percy there as plain as day, but he was beneath the surface and she couldn't be sure if he was still there or just unconscious muscle memory that stuck around. Either way, it twisted her in knots.

The sun was setting as the seven prepared for Siege. Annabeth strapped on her knife and armour, but already felt inferior to the demigods around her. She was the only one that had never faced a Giant, she was the only one that had never gone up against that level of power, and it left her feeling woefully unprepared for what was ahead. Sure, she had participated in the Titan War, and tangled with the Titans a few times, but she was never in a position where she was the primary opponent, she usually just went around invisibly and killed monsters from behind. That definitely wasn't an option when they went to Rome to rescue Nico and eventually Greece to save Old Olympus, as they had to stay fighting long enough to earn the help of the Gods, and that wasn't a style of warfare she typically used. It didn't help that her most effective time had passed, at the drawing board, so she was nervous. She gripped her knife handle in its sheath tightly, she wouldn't be the one that dragged the team down. Either way, it was definitely going to be a spectacle, and she had no doubts that this was a War Game to go down in history, both Greek and Roman.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, which was the agreed apon starting time. They didn't bother with a horn or drum, but instead let the eerie silence inform all that it was time. The seven grouped in formation: Jason at the front, Piper and Leo flanking behind him, Hazel and Frank behind them, and Percy at the back. Annabeth was given free reign to roam with her Yankees cap on. She saw Percy and Jason lift up their arms, and a storm began to swirl around the group. Jason pulled in clouds for Percy to extract water from, and the storm picked up. Hazel concentrated and a geyser of water erupted from the ground, followed by another one. She stopped there to conserve energy, but Percy already had plenty to work with. The storm became a barrier of protection that was a twister of lightning and hurricane. They pushed forward, time was of the essence, and Jason and Percy couldn't keep this up all day. The storm quickly proved useful as it saved them from the Hunters' arrows, not one of them ended up hitting their target, and Annabeth had just enough time to consider how embarrassing that would be for them when they reached the outer gate.

The outer gate was much like the wall surrounding it, heavyset wood. They would have usually used stone, but any power Hazel would have over it was a weakness that the defending side could not afford. It was on giant hinges, but also in old style wood. Because they had to be made to open, there was a huge beam that fell across the inside that must have been most of the trunk of a tree. It looked like some children of Ceres had found a rare sapling, as the wood looked heavier and harder to burn than any other wood. Annabeth saw Leo leap forward, his hands aflame. They looked hotter than normal, and Annabeth saw the flame go from red to yellow to blue to finally white as Leo heaved in exhaustion. He pushed his hands into the crack between the giant gates, but there wasn't room for his hands, and the group waited with bated breath as the wood glowed and started to give way. It was slow work, but eventually Leo had managed to get his hands on the beam. The Hunters weren't firing, but held their arrows knocked, waiting for the storm to tire. Jason and Percy were sweating under the strain, and Piper was feeding them and Leo small amounts of ambrosia, which gave a surge. Annabeth saw Leo yell something to Frank, something about the Fire not working on the beam. Cursing, Frank turned to Percy and Annabeth caught the words "... Plan B!" Percy, his face twisting with exertion stumbled as the ground gave a sharp jolt. Annabeth could hear a crack as the beam splintered, and smiled as her plan worked, despite the fact that Percy was now tired from wrenching on the bedrock like that. She saw Leo back away from the gate and Frank hand his stub to Hazel, before he backed up, turned into a replica of Hannibal, and charged the weakened gate. The whole encampment shuddered again as Frank burst through, and the seven were quick to follow.

Annabeth made sure her earplugs were in place. Leo had invented a new type of earplugs that blocked out all sound in the absence of wax, and she shimmered into the visible spectrum to nod with the rest of the group as the plan moved into phase two. As the rest of the group followed Frank, who had put his earplugs in before charging, Piper stepped past him to the cohorts on the other side that were planning to pincer them the moment they burst through. The storm was faltering, and Percy and Jason were looking feverish from the amount of ambrosia. Jason had to hold the storm on his own for a while after Percy fractured the gate, so neither was in any shape to fight for the moment. Piper raised her hand to her throat, and said something. This was the ticket to halting the armies, as if this failed, then they were all doomed. Despite the fact that she couldn't hear what Piper said, Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief as everyone around them drooped and went to sleep, including those on the wall. It was obvious they weren't expecting that tactic, as not one of them had prepared or could resist the charmspeak. Switching her device off, Piper gestured to all of them to turn their earplugs off, and they stormed into the 'Keep'. The Keep didn't have an outer door, but was manned by a group of guards that had fallen asleep. Unfortunately it seemed Rome had forgotten the power of Venus.

Annabeth took off her hat and led the group into the Keep. They didn't know what was going to be in there, but she was a strong fighter and her godly powers wouldn't help much in the field. It was interesting though, she wasn't sure that she had 'godly' powers per se, but just had natural talents befitting her godly parent. Her mind was sharp, but now that she thought about it there wasn't a 'power' of Athena that she could call apon. It was the difference between having a natural inclination towards machinery like the Hephaestus kids, but another thing entirely to have the power of fire at your disposal. She was the only demigod without a 'godly power', although she had heard whispers since arriving of 'The Mark of Athena', apparently it's a Roman prophecy, which made no sense since they worship Minerva. Regardless, she was still the only demigod still in full fighting condition: Percy and Jason were exhausted from holding the storm and the earthquake, Leo and Hazel were shaken by the intensive use of their powers, as Leo had never tried to go that hot and Hazel had never tried to surface water before. Piper was breathing heavily, as for however much her voice was magnified, she still had to power that with purely her own charm-speak, which was much more labour-intensive than it usually was. Frank would normally be fine after only a single transformation, but he was still dazed from his collision with the gate, and it would take a while to shake off he cobwebs. It was on Annabeth to see them through safely until the more heavy hitters recuperated, she just hoped there wasn't anything too nasty in the Keep.

The Keep was as huge as it was labyrinthine. They had only the vaguest idea of where to go, which meant that they were hopelessly lost. Annabeth tried to keep her sense of direction, but she didn't even know if the banner was on the roof or deeply underground. She led them down, as Hazel should be able to tell them if the banner was in one of the excavated caves. The Greek heroes were guarding the hallways, having had more practice fighting on their own in enclosed spaces than the Roman Legionnaires. Back at Camp Half-Blood everyone had wanted to come and see Percy again, either because they had knew him well or because they wanted to see with their own eyes proof that she would stop making them search. Because they hadn't wanted to seem too threatening, they had only taken most of the Hermes Cabin, which was still the largest, and the Apollo Cabin. Hermes didn't specialise in fighting, so they hoped the Cabin weren't going to be too threatening. Hermes/Mercury was also the god of travelers, and roads, and all roads lead to Rome. Apollo didn't change his name or character in the transition, so his kids were a safe bet. Now, of course, they were the enemy, and Annabeth was quickly getting frustrated sneaking around and knocking them out. Fortunately they were drowsy, as Piper's voice must have echoed in here too, and therefore weren't as much of a threat as they should have been. Hazel spoke up "There's one room, just beneath the surface of the ground, but I can't tell if it has the banner in it, chances are it's a wooden pole flag with the style of everything else, still, we better have a look, follow me."

Annabeth's heart was racing as she followed Hazel down into the depths of the Keep. This seemed too easy, as despite the fact that Hazel wasn't as strong in the ground as Jason was in the air or Percy was in the water, they still must have known better than to just build a room underground and not expect Hazel to find it. Annabeth cautioned the rest of the group as she approached the portal at the bottom of the stairs. The room was well lit, comfortable in atmosphere, and it had the banner. The seven walked in cautiously and Annabeth grabbed the banner. Immediately they were jumped by Amazons, and the other six demigods were held hostage. They could have beaten the Amazons had they seen them, but they excelled in surprise attacks. Annabeth was approached by Clarisse and Queen Hylla. Clarisse sported a full-blown smirk as she said "Normally in this situation we would just kill you all, but we'll do this like you're beneath us. Annabeth, prove that you're better than all of us for this quest, you're the only one that hasn't earned their way on. Prove that you're more than some two-bit daughter of Athena and beat us, free your friends, and escape here with the banner." Annabeth's heart lurched as she was reminded of the cyclops she faced when she was seven with Luke and Thalia. Anger coursed through her, along with that little bit of doubt that was always there. "Mother help me." Pain coursed through her.

Annabeth clutched her forehead in pain as it felt like she was being branded. She felt godly strength unlike anything she had ever known course through her and settle in her eyes. Opening them, they had pupils dilated like an owl's as she surveyed the room around her. Annabeth was in shock, she could see to the clearest detail and a wealth of information poured into her head:

Primary opponent Clarisse: balanced stance

Head cocked, partially deaf in left ear.

Muscles tensed, about to lunge with spear: sidestep left.

Annabeth felt the knowledge enter her head and instinctively sidestepped as Clarisse lunged with her electric spear. With no warning, it was all she could do to marvel how she knew to do that while her body was responding further.

Follow through with right elbow to base of neck: knock unconscious

Draw knife: hold in open stance.

Secondary opponent Hylla mentally stunned: charge

Hold knife steady: intend to stab

Bail and follow elbow: spin to knock out tertiary target with secondary elbow.

Primary ally free: Hazel will pin feet with earth.

Change knife grip to point: throw hilt first to free secondary ally: Frank

Pick up banner: other allies are in the process of being freed.

Annabeth didn't know where her gift came from, but blazed through the room on preemptive knowledge until all of the seven were free. They were all looking at her stunned until Percy whispered "... Wisdom's daughter walks alone, The Mark of Athena burns through Rome."

Annabeth didn't know quite what to make of that, but quickly ushered the rest of the demigods out of the room. She somehow knew that Piper's charm-speak would wear off soon, just like how she could see the more walked hallways that would lead them to the roof. Once there, her forehead burned again and her vision returned to normal, she couldn't see the details anymore. It didn't matter, as Jason embraced them all and flew off the roof and out of the Fortress. The banner fluttered in the wind over their heads, and they landed out by where Reyna was with Scipio. Everyone was breathing hard until Leo spoke up, "So, does this mean we win?"

THE END