Annabeth: The Sky Sword and what happened next
I had gathered the camp for a celebration in the name of the team for successfully grabbing the sword and bringing it back to camp while killing Ouranos and destroying Orthys. Fortunately, I was able to keep the crowd from being so wild that even Gabriel would be crushed under their weight. Chiron was there with me and we were both the first to greet the team as they came back on a chariot normally used by Iris and was being driven by Butch. They arrived in a matter of minutes and the crowd screamed all at once with praise and reverence for their new leaders.
"Well done, you four! Together, you have destroyed Ouranos, stolen the Sky Sword, and brought it back to Camp safely along with another weapon that we will take now for investigation," Chiron said. "Actually Chiron, I suggest you let me keep it as I already know who it belongs to," Gabriel replied. Though a bit surprised, Chiron agreed but gave him a surprise of his own by giving him his rank as Chiron's equal for the duration of the war effort.
"Thank you Chiron but may we know where Percy, Nico, and Thalia rank?" Gabriel asked. "They are Annabeth's equals, all four of them answer only to you and I," Chiron answered. "Let me guess, you gave me the rank because I have killed immortals before, including Ouranos and Hyperion," Gabriel said. Chiron nodded and asked if he was the one who killed Atlas at Mount Orthys.
"Actually, that was my doing and his death destroyed the mountain's core. Because of me, Mount Orthys was destroyed but it's because of Gabriel that Ouranos is dead and we're in possession of the Sky Sword," Thalia answered. "I forsook my own revenge against Prometheus since he was also there in exchange for obtaining the Sky Sword," Gabriel added. "You mean to tell me you fought two gods simultaneously but killed only one?" I asked.
"Yeah and Percy also had a victory against one of the Titans too. He defeated Prometheus' brother Epimetheus in single combat," Thalia answered. Percy blushed when I looked at him for confirmation of this victory and I knew that they were telling the truth. "We will have a firework show in their honor tonight, bring a date with you and a picnic blanket as it's going to be a long show," Chiron said.
Drew Beauregard showed up at that point and asked Gabriel if he would like to be her date to the picnic. Although he had previously accepted her advances, he ignored her as he asked Thalia to join him. "I'm a lieutenant of Artemis, you know that," she said. "Just because I'm asking you to join me doesn't mean I wanna bang you; I mean you did kill Atlas, didn't you?" he replied.
She admitted that was true and said she would be glad to share Gabriel's picnic basket with him. "Wait, what about me?" Drew asked. "What about you, just because I had sex with you doesn't mean I love you. I was in a fit of madness given to me as a curse from the gods, now that the curse is over I can't believe you were one of my victims," Gabriel answered.
Drew ran away at that point but not before she vowed revenge on him. "Yeah yeah, I've killed immortal gods. What could you possibly have that I should be afraid of?" Gabe replied before forgetting about her entirely. "Tonight when the show begins at 7:00 then?" Thalia asked and he nodded.
Percy stepped up to me and asked me if I would like to go to the firework show with him. "Do you really have to ask, Seaweed Brain?" I asked him. "I don't know, do I Wise Girl?" he answered with a smile. We both walked away from that with a promise that we would be going to the firework show together.
Curious to see the Sky Sword for myself, I went to Gabriel and asked him to show it to me. When he did, I was amazed by the design of it and the fact that it was a two-handed sword rather than anything Grecian. "If you're amazed by this, take a look at the Sword of Saturn," Gabriel said before showing me the sword Thalia had taken from Orthys. "The man she took from kept it until the very moment he died, which was when he gave it to Thalia," he added.
"Who is Saturn? I have never heard of him in any of the Greek legends about the gods?" I asked. "He used to be the Roman ego of my father Kronos before he manifested into his own deity and turned his back on the Greek entity. Saturn's children are the leaders of a town they named after their father: Saturn's Land and it's located in the Appalachian mountains. A drive would be one or two days from here but by Pegasus, you reach it in a few hours," he answered.
"Could we Greek demigods see it if we wanted to?" I asked. "Depends on whether or not you found it by chance. I found it by chance, revealed my heritage when I was brought there, and now I have permission to go back there when I wish. You would be allowed in if you accompanied me but besides that you would have to find it by chance the way I did," he explained.
I nodded and thanked him for explaining the whole reason for the sword. "See you at the show tonight?" he asked. "Yeah, me and Percy will even park our blanket next to yours if you want," I answered. "Sounds great, I'll see you there then," he said and I nodded in agreement.
The only thing I felt ashamed of was the fact that Nico was not going to be conscious in time for celebration but not to worry. We'd most likely be having a celebration when he revives even if it doesn't involve fireworks like this one will. I tried to think only of the good time I would be having at the celebration but one thought never escaped my mind. Would Camp have fallen period if Gabriel had been on the side of the Titans from the start?
What if Kronos had somehow survived through Gabriel but was manifesting into a whole new being? Could Prometheus know how to use his revenge against us in the future? Besides those questions, I readied my stuff for the picnic tonight and even made sure to look good for Percy when he came to pick me up as was the plan for tonight. I wasn't sure what to braid my hair with so I just straightened it and got on a nice shirt to go with my jeans.
Then Percy came for me an hour or so later and we walked to the Long Island Sound for the firework display. Percy and I set the blanket next to Gabriel's, which was already being sat on by Gabriel and Thalia, after we arrived to the Sound. After that Percy suggested that we lie down and make sure we were comfortable before the show began. "Like I need to be told that Seaweed Brain," I retorted with a giggle.
He lied down on his back while I lied my head down on his chest, listening to his heart beat as the show began. Briefly, I turned to see Gabriel and Thalia sitting up and believe me I was glad they hadn't even touched each other. Not just because Thalia was bound to her service to Artemis but because even if she wasn't, I don't think Gabriel and Thalia would have been in love. Just then, the Hunters of Artemis came from behind them and told Thalia that Artemis had ordered Thalia to separate from Gabriel.
"I am the lieutenant and I order you to let me stay with who I choose!" Thalia replied. "Go with them Thalia, it will help them recover their pride faster if you are not sitting here with me," Gabriel calmly told her. "Oh it's not our pride that's the issue, it's Artemis' rule of chastity that has us on these orders," Phoebe snapped. "Okay it's both but so what?" Gabe asked.
"If we were not in Camp Half-Blood, I'd make you eat those words for your last meal," Phoebe hissed. "Yeah right, you couldn't kill me last time so what difference does it make now? Besides, if you did kill me you would be the offender of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera. Through them, you would also offend the entirety of Olympus besides your mistress so I would not touch me if I were you," Gabe countered.
Phoebe marched away with Thalia but not before the latter woman apologized for what happened. "It's okay, I had a backup plan in the even this happened. All I have to do is flip this drachma and ask her to join me if I wish to not be alone," he said. She smiled and rhetorically asked how she knew he had something like that to say.
"I'm a son of Kronos, I always have something smart to say to everybody," he sarcastically replied. "That's more often than a child of Athena, are you sure about that?" I asked. He laughed and answered that he was not sure about that and both Percy and I cracked up at that. "So who's your backup plan if Thalia was to be taken by the Hunter of Artemis?" I inquired, curious.
"Let me put it this way: she's the dawn," he answered. "Eos? She would go on a date with you to a firework show? How do you know there's not a better one on Olympus right now?" I teased.
We laughed at that joke but soon after, Eos appeared behind him, covered his eyes, and told him to guess who. "Eos, goddess of the dawn and the woman I love in spite of my fits of madness where I committed unreasonable acts of infidelity," he answered. "Long time no see, my love. How are you tonight?" Eos asked.
"Well, I've killed Ouranos, forsook my own revenge to do it, obtained the Sword of Saturn from Conan through Thalia, and destroyed Mount Orthys with the help of my friends but besides that I'm perfect. What about you dear Eos, how are you doing?" Gabe replied. "Oh, let's just say I'm in the mood for some fireworks and lying down on the grass with my love, Gabriel Johnson," Eos said. He kissed her and made some space for her to lie down with him as the fireworks ignited and exploded in the sky to celebrate Gabriel's victory.
It was a spectacle unlike even the July fireworks or any other celebration that I've been around for. As I lied on Percy's chest and Eos lied on Gabriel's we watched as the spectacle of the century played out its part. Almost all the campers even stayed after the fireworks ended and slept right there on Long Island Sound. It was a magical night with an equally magical ending that I don't think any camper would be forgetting anytime soon.
Six days later…
Percy, Thalia, and I were gathered in a meeting that also included Gabriel and Chiron. This meeting was about drawing up battle plans in case Prometheus decided to continue with his assault on Camp Half-Blood without Ouranos to help. "If Prometheus wants to guarantee victory, he'd come at night since he would then be under the protection of Nyx but our camp is designed so that he would have to narrow down his numbers a bit. He knows the risk if we have him do that and will most likely see if he can attack from a distance first," Gabriel said.
"Then wouldn't it be wise to set up our cannons so that he would have no choice but to risk narrowing down his army in order to really do damage?" Thalia asked. "How the hell can we do that? Fly the cannons right behind him and force his armies in by blasting away soldiers at the rear?" Gabriel answered.
"He's right and besides, if we do that then we risk compromising what our plan is to him. But my question is this: if he can see the future, won't he already know what our plan is?" I asked. "That's a good question Annabeth and I have an answer: he prides himself on trying to do what he can without his ability to see the future," Chiron said. We all nodded in agreement on that and continued with the plan from there.
"Let's see what we can do to force him in our domain before we resort to the cannons. They're some of our most powerful weapons and I'd hate to lose them before we actually need them," Gabriel said and we agreed. "What about the lake that will surely be at their flank when they arrive? Perhaps I can use my connection to my father's realm to have that lake flood them in," Percy suggested.
"The distance of the lake from the camp plus its quantity would surely take a toll on you. Are you sure you'd be up to Percy?" I asked. "I'll see what I can do if I'm given a chance to use my abilities to force him in," Percy answered. "Well Percy is right in his implication of one thing: we're all taking risks when he attacks camp, even my brother Chiron and I," Gabe agreed. "Then perhaps our concluded strategy shall be to have Percy use his connection to his father's realm to force the Titan forces in the narrow terrain leading to our camp then slaughter them at the walls?" Chiron asked.
"It's a crude strategy, but it's our most effective one if we add the way we'll arrange our soldiers. Percy and I have decided that perhaps it would be best to have the minor cabins fight first so that they have a chance to prove themselves worthy of us while simultaneously holding down the fortress," I answered. "If I may say so, there may be a better and less risky way of drawing them into our trap. It will be more long term but we may have a long time before Prometheus attacks the Camp," Gabriel said.
"What is it that you would have us do, Gabe?" Thalia asked. "Perhaps send in a spy, preferably a child of Hermes considering that their natural ability to deceive can even fool the gods, to make Prometheus bold and confident. If there's anything I know from my days slaying immortals it's that they crave only hearing the good things about themselves. Perhaps we can deceive him into thinking he can destroy us easily, regardless of what his premonitions tell him or better yet, it could make his premonitions simple enough for that spy to easily manipulate them for our purposes," Gabriel explained.
"Seems safe enough and we have only to lose that person who would volunteer to venture into his camp. As for whether or not we can be safe, let's hope the volunteer buys us time to be ready for war," I said. "Then is it agreed that we find one amongst us who is experienced enough and brave enough to infiltrate enemy lines and act as a spy for us while also poisoning Prometheus' mind in the sense that his own power turns against him?" Percy asked. "All who are in favor say 'aye'," Thalia agreed.
Chiron, Thalia, Percy, Gabriel, and I all said aye and settled for that. We walked out of the Big House at that point but instead of the usual calm, we walked into a frozen crowd that stood staring in one direction. Along with the crowd, we turned our gaze to that direction and saw a woman coming up the hill carrying a man by the arm across her shoulders. Even from here, I could make out that his arm was swollen purple just above the elbow and could make out that she was saying that she was in search of Gabriel.
Gabriel rushed to them as if he knew them (I later realized he did) and asked what happened. "He's been bitten by a snake, he needs medical help quickly!" she said. "Yes and no ordinary snake: it's the bite of an Egyptian Asp. Somebody get me a stretcher to take him to the Asclepius cabin fast," Gabriel ordered.
Two Apollo kids came back with a stretcher and with the woman's help, Gabriel parked the dying man on the stretcher before he was taken to the Asclepius cabin. I ran to see if the Asclepius kids could pull off their first real operation or if we would need the infirmary medics for that. "I don't know how Brian lasted this long but I highly recommend amputating his arm in order to save his life," Gabriel said. "Well the venom is coursing up his blood stream at a level of two inches per four minutes and it's already past his elbow," one Asclepius kid (Emilio) agreed.
"My guess is he used his power to contain the venom to his arm so if we do sever it, we may be able to separate the coagulated blood from his healthy blood," Dr. Fernando added. "Do it, whatever it takes to save his life, do it!" Gabriel said. "We have the tools for amputation, problem is we've never done it before and we may possibly kill him," Emilio said. Gabriel shook his head and said that was not true so Emilio proceeded to strap the boy called Brian down while he went to get the anesthetic to knock him out while they amputated him.
A nurse named Betty came with the anesthetic injector and on Emilio's signal, injected it through Brian's neck and knocked him out instantly. Fernando grabbed the amputating blade at that point and began to surgically slice into Brian's arm, which I could not watch. Emilio got out another blade that he made red-hot under a fire while Fernando continued the operation. When I turned back to see the operation, Emilio was just beginning the cauterization of the stump and I wish I had not turned to see that.
"Gabriel, why did you let them do that to your friend?" I asked. "Because it was the only way to save him. Besides as much as I hate these sorts of operations even I am willing to consent to them. By the way, he's not my friend, he's my brother just as Allie here is my sister by the god Saturn," Gabriel answered.
The girl called Allie was panicking in the background but Gabriel calmed her down. "Listen to me, tell me what happened and tell me how he got bitten by an Egyptian Asp," Gabriel told her. At first, she spent some time calming down then proceeded to tell him something I would never forget. "Saturn's Land, Gabriel; Saturn's Land has been destroyed," she said.
"Destroyed? How in the name of all the Olympians is that possible?" Gabriel asked. "Prometheus sent his brother Epimetheus and their armies under the cover of night and burned Saturn's Land to the ground. They slaughtered men, women, and children alike and only a couple hundred are alive including me and Brian," Allie answered. Gabriel was silent for a moment then he told us that we would have to go to Saturn's Land.
"This is our chance to make them suffer before us and this is our chance to kick some ass," Gabriel said. "Please, let us stay here for a while before you go back there?" Allie asked. Gabriel nodded and said that he would not make a move towards Saturn's Land until Brian was fit for travel. Then Brian awoke and whispered, "Gabriel, you son of a bitch, I'm… glad… we found you; help us now… as you helped as before… and I will consider us… even." We had no words for that and knew we had some questions for Gabriel, which he said he would answer with Brian's help at a later date.
To Be Continued…