Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 13: Voyage Home
Annabeth's POV
I awoke the next morning and then I remembered where I was I looked to my right and I saw Percy still asleep. I sat up and then I noticed my mom sitting in a chair between the two sets of bunk beds. I got up quickly and ran to her, I couldn't help it I missed her.
"Mom I missed you." I said as I hugged her. The relationship my mom and I had became much stronger over the last several years especially after Theseus had returned and they married. They were both so happy together and my mom had become very close with Percy, almost like a second mother to him. It's strange to think about how much had changed in just a few years.
"I know my dear." Athena said.
"Its not fair." I said, referring to Percy having to leave for a year.
"I know, please don't be mad at Theseus and I. We are only trying to protect Percy." Athena said.
"I was mad yesterday, but today I understand how hard this must be for both of you." I said sincerely.
"I didn't want you to be mad at us, Percy will be mad enough for the both of you, believe me." Athena said, I could tell she was concerned about Percy's reaction.
"Can I be there when you tell him?" I asked.
My mom looked at me with concern and then I could tell she was thinking about all of the potential hazards and consequences.
"I will talk to Theseus, but I think you should be there, it may help." Athena said with a smile.
Will Solace walked in, he stopped when he saw us.
"Sorry, I'll come back later." Will said.
"Will you can stay." I said as my mom nodded in agreement.
"I just need to check his I.V. Levels." Will said. He checked the levels and then felt Percy's pulse.
"How's he doing?" I asked.
"Much better, he should wake up today. His heart beat is much stronger and his intake of liquid has slowed so his dehydration has subsided. I'll check back in a few hours." Will said as he nodded to us and left.
"Mom, how long are you staying?" I asked.
"I spoke to Theseus earlier about what happened in Maine, Percy did one Hades of a job on that base and on Coeus." Athena said.
"He did, it was incredible!" I said.
"I imagine so, again his fatal flaw almost cost him his life, but also saved the day. He is so much like his brother. It almost scares me sometimes how similar they are." Athena said with a contemplative look on her face.
"Scare you, I thought you weren't scared of anything." I said.
"No, I'm scared of losing my children, Theseus and yes even Percy. He has become a very important part of my family just like Poseidon." Athena said with a bright smile.
"Theseus has really changed everyone's lives." I said.
"Mostly, for the better." Athena said with a sad look on her face.
"What do you mean mostly?" I asked curiously.
"Theseus would never admit this out loud, but he is scared that he has made Percy's life more dangerous not less." Athena said.
"The training that he thought would help Percy survive now threatens his life and those around him." I said, Athena nodded in agreement.
"I hope the training will work, if not, I don't want to even think of that now." Athena said, I could tell she was thinking of the consequences and they weren't good ones.
"How are the gods taking the news about all of the demigod deaths?" I asked.
Athena looked at the floor and I could tell this question made her very sad.
"Not well I'm afraid, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Dionysus and Apollo are all very upset, they're children were the ones who perished. The survivors are also very damaged I'm afraid. Apollo has already been on the ship this morning. He left before I came down here. He was crying, I think the mental damage to the children has gotten to him." Athena said.
"I wish we could have gotten there sooner." I said regretfully.
"No one blames any of you, you all stopped this nightmare and thanks to Percy we won't have to worry about it again. That's why all of the gods even Zeus want this training to work." Athena said.
"Good at least Zeus isn't out to kill Percy straight away." I said.
"He's not, actually and he won't admit this. He has a soft spot for our favorite hero here." Athena said as she pointed to Percy.
"Mom, when will he have to leave for the training?" I asked, I knew the answer, but I wanted my mom to tell me.
"I think you know, as soon as we tell him." Athena said sadly.
"I don't know if I can stand being without him for a year." I said.
"I know my dear, if Theseus left me now for that length I would feel terrible as well, but you know it must be done." Athena said.
"What if I forget him?" I said worriedly. My mom just looked at me like my question was the stupidest thing she ever heard.
"Annabeth you know that Percy is your soul mate, do you think you could forget him or are you worried that he will forget you?" Athena said.
"I'm worried that he will forget me." I said reluctantly.
"You know he won't, this is Percy remember." Athena said, she was right he was loyal to a fault, literally he would never forget and our love had been through worse.
"Mom, I didn't want to tell you this, but I think Percy would want you to know. I think the fight that we had at camp was spurred on by Aphrodite. I think she was in my head urging me to be jealous." I said.
"It wouldn't surprise me. She always wanted to give Theseus and I drama. I guess she's transferred that now to you and Percy. I will talk to her, such drama now in Percy's state could be extremely dangerous." Athena said.
"How far from camp are we now?" I asked.
"Not far, Theseus said that the ship should reach camp by early tomorrow morning." Athena said.
We were talking and then we heard a groan, we both turned toward Percy and his eyes opened slowly. They weren't the usual vibrant sea green, They were a dark green almost the color of a dark forest.
"Percy, your awake." I said, of course he's awake that's a dumb statement. Athena smiled at me, I guess she could sense my thoughts.
We both walked over to Percy and knelt next to his bed.
"Athena, Annabeth, how long?" Percy said in a weak voice.
"Almost a day and a half. How do you feel?" Athena asked.
"So tired, I thought I was gone for a moment there. What happened?" Percy asked.
"Get some rest seaweed brain, there will be plenty of time for questions after you rest, understand." I said demandingly.
"Yes, wise girl." Percy said as he tried to smile and then closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
Athena just smiled at me and gave me a hug.
"Come on let's leave Percy alone to sleep." Athena said as she stood up and I followed her lead. We walked out of the cabin and walked up on deck. Thalia and Nico were sitting at the table with the Stoll brothers. They all straightened up when they saw my mom.
"Lady Athena!" They all said at the same time. My mom smiled I knew she loved it when she surprised people.
"It's alright, mind if Annabeth and I join you?" Athena said, everyone gestured for us to sit.
"What were you four discussing?" I asked curiously.
"Connor was just telling us how they got into the castle." Nico said.
"Really, I would like to hear that as well." I said.
We all looked at Connor including my mother, who smiled when Connor and Travis looked at her uneasily.
"We waited outside the gate of the castle for someone to drive outside. A car drove out and we followed it until it came to a little convenience store about two miles down the road. The guard went into the restroom of the store and Travis and I went inside and took care of him. Then I dressed in his uniform and put on his ski mask, I also took his identification. I had everyone else get into the large trunk of the car. I drove back to the castle and they let us in pretty easy. Then once inside we took out three more guards and stole their uniforms. We waited until the fight was over and came into the room where you all were and we got lucky because Coeus ordered us to take you to the research facility." Connor said.
"How did you know where the research facility was?" I asked.
"That was pretty easy Travis hacked into their computer system from the outside, we had blueprints for the entire place." Connor said. Damn those two really were cunning.
"I guess we all underestimated you two, I know I did." Clarisse said as she walked in and bowed toward my mother.
"How did you get passed their camera system, it was pretty impressive." I said.
"It was alright, it was Honeywell 485CT73 camera system with computer operated detection system. However, it is susceptible to computer hacking and data splicing, it wasn't difficult to crack through their fire wall and loop the camera feed so that the cameras showed the same images over and over with the time stamp elapsing as normal." Travis said. I looked around the table and everyone's eyes were either large with surprise or completely lost in what Travis just said.
"You two do your father proud." Athena said shaking her head in admiration.
"Thank you Lady Athena, we try to keep up with every type of security system, our father always told us to be prepared." Connor said giving the boy scout salute. Everyone around the table started to laugh including my mom and Clarisse. These two clearly weren't boy scouts.
"Thank you both for helping rescue us as well as the others." I said, Thalia and Nico nodded in agreement.
"Your welcome Annabeth, sorry about taking the van, but with all our equipment in it we didn't have the room." Travis said looking down sadly.
"Well, Chiron, Theseus and Argus are still going to punish you." I said.
"I know, probably kitchen duty for a couple of months." Travis said.
"You left your equipment." Clarisse said.
"Yes, we had to in order to fit in all of the rescued demigods, its alright we can always get new equipment." Connor said hopefully.
"If you all will excuse me I need to speak with Theseus." Athena said as she stood up and walked to the control area, we all nodded as she walked away.
"How's Percy?" Thalia asked.
"He woke up for a little bit, but he's still really tired." I said, everyone nodded I could tell they were sad, I knew that everyone had heard about Percy needing to leave for a year.
Will Solace walked up from below deck and sat at the table he looked terrible.
"Will are you alright?" I asked.
"I'm tired that's all." Will said I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
"Why don't you go to sleep?" Nico asked.
"I will I just needed to come up here, it's too depressing down there." Will said.
"The rescued demigods are pretty messed up aren't they?" I asked.
"Yes, they have nightmares when they sleep, some are in shock they cannot speak at all, and others just walk around with no emotions, it's terrible what those bastards did to these little kids." Will said as he lowered his head in his hands. Clarisse stood up and placed her hand on Will's shoulder and said, "Will just be there for them, that's all you can do."
Will looked up at her and smiled. He understood that under that tough exterior and harsh attitude that Clarisse showed she was actually a very caring person.
"Thank you." Will said as he stood up and walked back downstairs to get some rest.
We stayed at the table talking for hours until it was early evening. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Theseus and Athena remained at the controls. They were talking quietly. The rest of us sat at the table talking about what we would do for the rest of camp and how much fun we would have now that the quest was over. I didn't want to tell them that Percy would have to leave well before the completion of summer. His last summer as a camper would end way too soon. Then we heard someone walk upstairs, you could hear some kind of metal cane or pole hit the wooden stairs as they walked. We looked over at the stairs curiously and then I saw him. It was Percy dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt carrying his I.V. Pole. His face and skin were pale in color and his muscles looked incredibly fatigued. He was slouched over as if the wait of the world was on his shoulders. Everyone was stunned to see him walking. Theseus and Athena ran over to him to make sure he was alright.
"Percy you shouldn't be out of bed, you're still too weak." Theseus said as he and Athena tried to help Percy up the remaining few stairs.
"I can't sleep anymore I needed get out of that bed." Percy said softly, I could hear the fatigue in his voice.
Athena and Theseus helped Percy over to the table and helped him sit down. Everyone smiled when Percy took his seat.
"Hey guys, how are you?" Percy said still in that quiet voice that was still so unlike him.
"We're all doing well seaweed brain." I said with a smile. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.
Percy just looked at me and smiled, he still looked so tired and his eyes were still like before, so dark and not the bright green glowing eyes that he normally had.
"You look like crap Jackson!" Clarisse said with a wry smile. Percy just looked at her and his eyes lit up a little at her comment.
"I feel worse than I look." Percy said as he gave Clarisse his crooked smile that I loved. Clarisse just stared at him and then smiled brightly. We all laughed at that. By then Theseus and Athena walked back over to the controls and continued their conversation.
Percy closed his eyes and we all thought that he fell asleep.
"Percy!" I said trying not to startle him awake.
"He's not asleep." Theseus said as he and Athena walked over to the table.
"Whats wrong?" Thalia asked.
"He's talking to his friends." Theseus said with a smile.
"What friends?" Nico asked. Theseus motioned for us to walk out onto the open deck of the ship and all around us you could see swarms of sea creatures around the ship. Theseus smiled brightly and I saw my mother smile next to him as she laced her arm through his. There were whales, dolphins, seals, sea otters, fish and squid all around the ship, jumping in and out of our wake.
"It's incredible!" I said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Do you want to hear what they are saying?" Theseus asked.
"You can do that?" I asked. I saw my mom smile.
"He's a god and a son of Poseidon, of course he can." Athena said.
Theseus's eyes began to glow and then I felt my eyes glow as well. I saw the others eyes glow and then when the feeling subsided I started to hear voices. Many voices, some loud some soft. It was like a chorus singing in my head.
"This is what it's like to hear them?" I asked.
"Yes, amazing isn't it?" Thesues asked.
We all nodded in amazement. Then a sea creature surfaced nearby the ship it was a hippocampus and not any ordinary one, it was Rainbow.
Hello, lord!
"Hello, my friend thank you for summoning so many." Theseus said.
I had to turn many away I didn't want any accidents. When I told them it was to help young Lord Perseus everyone wanted to come.
Percy walked out on deck and then Rainbow saw him.
We have come to heal you lord.
Percy opened his eyes and he smiled brightly. He was very happy, he had tears in his eyes.
"Thank you, my friend, thank you to everyone." Percy said a little louder than he had spoken earlier.
Theseus walked over to Percy with Athena. They removed his I.V., then they led him to the side of the ship.
"Are you ready, brother?" Theseus asked.
"Yes!" Percy said. At that Theseus and Athena helped Percy onto Rainbow's back and then all of the sea creatures sank beneath the waves. Rainbow followed them under the sea.
"Let's look at the underwater camera." I said as I raced to the controls. I flipped on the camera and the small display extended out of the control panel. As the display came on you could see the back of the ship, but there was no sign of Percy.
Then a few minutes later I could see Percy on the back of Rainbow. They were about thirty yards behind the ship. Then they were surrounded by sea creatures, hundreds of them. Then the sea creatures began to glow with a blue-green light including Rainbow and then something amazing happened. The light from the sea creatures moved from their bodies onto Percy, at first Percy glowed slightly and then the light around him grew larger and brighter, until the video screen shut off. I guess the power was too great for the camera. We waited for several minutes and then something erupted from the sea behind us and landed on the aft deck of the ship. It was Percy, he was completely dry, but that wasn't the strange part. He was no longer pale, but his skin was tanned as normal, his muscles looked incredibly toned and then he raised his head. He no longer looked tired, his features were strong and he had a bright beautiful smile, but what sent a shiver of excitement down my spine were his eyes. His eyes glowed like they never did before. They were a green-blue color as the sea, but shined like the sun itself were behind them. Everyone stood there speechless, even my mom and Theseus. The sea creatures had all left by now, no more singing of sea life in my head. Percy looked straight at me and smiled. I ran to him at full speed and jumped into his arms.
"So now you hug me." Percy said.
I pulled away from him and blushed intensely.
"I didn't want to hurt you in your weakened state." I said.
"Your forgiven, wise girl." Percy said as he put his arm around my waist. Everyone else ran over and greeted him.
"We're glad your alright now kelp head." Thalia said.
"So am I pine cone face." Percy said.
"Perc it's good to have you well again." Nico said.
"Good to be well dead boy." Percy acknowledged.
The greetings and camaraderie continued for a few more minutes until Theseus cleared his throat and everyone stopped and looked toward him.
"Now that the antics are out of the way. I think Percy and Annabeth may want to be alone for awhile." Theseus said as he and Athena ushered our friends into the control room.
"I'm so glad they left, remind me to thank Theseus later." I said happily.
"I will." Percy said as he held me close. We sat at the aft of the ship looking out over the ocean. The sun was now low in the sky and light cascaded over the water causing light to glow off of the sea. It was beautiful. The sound of the ship cutting through the water was hypnotic, Percy and I stayed there for a long while just holding each other.
"Wise girl, I love you." Percy said.
"I love you too, seaweed brain." I said happily. I tried to block out what I knew was coming tomorrow when we arrived at camp. All I wanted to think about was Percy and how much I loved him, thats all that mattered.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come.
