Eventide
part two: nautical

chapter fourteen: broken and unbroken


Annabeth fisted her hands in the fabric of her cloak. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts and unanswered questions. Stay calm, she thought to herself. Stay calm. You'll be alright.

Despite knowing this - the truth - she had a hard time keeping herself calm. Looking around, she saw that many of the people from Earth were having similar troubles. After all, walking calmly next to them were their parents. Their parents, who could very well find their identities.

And then what?

She almost stopped right then and there. She hadn't considered that - what would happen if they revealed themselves to their parents. Some of their faces were of so-called traitors, such as Ethan and Luke. Others were long dead, like Zoe or Bianca. Wait, no, most of them were considered dead.

She'd panicked so much about how it would affect her that she hadn't thought of how the identities would affect the gods. Oh, Chaos, she was walking right next to her mother. The last time they'd talked was.. well. Like Percy, she'd forgiven her mother - but she wasn't sure if Athena had done the same to her.

"This is it, then," Zeus boomed, obviously somewhat uncomfortable.

Ah, Annabeth remembered this room well. She'd designed it, of course. The council room, where, as the name suggested, the gods could hold council. It was no less beautiful than the rest of Olympus, with high, arched ceilings and an enormous circular table smack dab in the center of the room.

There were only twelve seats; Zeus waved his hand in what almost seemed like a dismissive gesture, and more appeared. Each person made their way to a seat, and Annabeth ended up next to Bianca and Ethan.

The meeting began.

"As you know, a new threat has risen," Zeus said. "The Primordials have risen against us. We face war and are here to discuss the best course of action."

She rolled her eyes. Obviously.

Zeus kept talking. Annabeth was only half-listening. After years of long, boring, and slightly unimportant meetings, she'd perfected the art of looking like she was paying attention while really paying attention to other things. Hey, her ADHD hadn't magically disappeared. If anything, it had grown stronger; it was a demigod's natural development to help them survive in battle. It was her personal theory that the ADHD had grown stronger alongside the more wars she'd needed to survive. But, of course, it was also possible that PTSD could play a role in the aftereffects of war. ADHD kept her looking over her shoulder, but then again, so did slight paranoia, hallucinations when it got really bad, the nightmares...

She briefly wondered if her sudden analysis of ADHD was caused by her ADHD. Yeah, sounded plausible.

"... Erebos is coming to power, and from what we know, his main targets are the camps first, to rid this world of demigods, before he turns his gaze to Olympus..."

Annabeth looked around the table. Her eyes stopped on Athena. Athena, the brave, wise goddess. Her mother, the cowardly, foolish woman. She was listening with rapt attention, her bright eyes focused on Zeus while her hands twisted together on the table. It was a gesture she knew well, Annabeth noted, glancing down to her own wringing hands in her lap.

Ah, so similar. The thought made her slightly uneasy.

Across from her, Percy reached over and caught one of her moving hands in his own. He signed a message at her with his fingers. I love you. I love you. I love you. Over and over again, until she sagged the tiniest bit in her chair and let out a breath. She hadn't even realized she'd been so tensed.

Percy grinned at her, his signature, crooked grin. She could just barely see it with the cloak over his head, though it didn't matter much. She'd memorized that smile, anyway.

Her lips lifted slightly in response.

"...however, as you know, the Fellowship of Chaos has decided to step in. By the way, we'd like to thank you for your assistance..."

She realized that he was addressing them, and without missing a beat, she nodded. "Yes, Erebos is a dangerous soul; we are glad to help you."

Zeus continued talking. It reminded her of college lectures; while they could be interesting, they were long and dragged out and painful after a few minutes of listening. The thought sparked a memory. When she was younger, and Helen Chase had been Helen Millers and a waitress at the college Starbucks, her dad would bring her to USF with him. She'd sit in the front and listen to him with the other seventy or so college students. Sometimes, she'd read a book, or, if she was lucky, get to mess around with his desk and make everyone watching laugh when she pushed his chair back enough so that when he tried to sit, he'd fall or other little pranks.

After class, sometimes students would stay behind and talk to Professor Chase and even spend a few minutes with her, talking about the plot of Cinderella or debating about something trivial.

She missed him, her dad. She wondered if he missed hr just as much, so much that there was a tiny hole in her heart that not even Percy could quite fill. He was everything to her, but there was still a part of her that was the little girl listening to her dad's lectures and building mini forts out of books using thick textbooks.

"...we must decide our next course of action. Obviously, the Fellowship will have to be at both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. Have you any opinions regarding this?"

Percy spoke up. Annabeth didn't quite register what he was saying, still thinking about her dad. Maybe she could visit him? Percy signed another message, his eyes twinkling in amusement. She blushed as his eyes caught hers. He knew that she wasn't paying attention.

I'll get you caught up later, he'd told her.

Annabeth tapped his hand under the table to draw his attention, and when she had it, she signed, whatever back at him. He grinned again.

"Very well, meeting dismissed. Commanders Alithia and Pelagios, if you would implement what we discussed immediately. Do keep us updated on what happens and if there is anything we can do to help."

"Thank you," Percy said when Annabeth didn't say anything. "Lucian, if you would please?" He gestured to the soldiers, a silent command accompanying his words. Luke immediately began to sort them into two groups that would cover Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

"Excuse me," Athena said, as the Olympians began to leave. "I have a request for the Fellowship."

"Of course, lady," Percy said. "if it is reasonable."

"We have to know that you are trustworthy," Athena said in a clear, strong voice. "Would you mind showing us your identities. It is hard to trust someone you cannot see."

A moment of silence. Finally, Percy nodded swiftly and flicked his fingers behind his back. Do it, he signed.

The ten commanders flicked off their hoods. From her own hood, dark hair tumbled down in waves. She knew that if she could see herself, she would have green eyes, a larger nose, and freckles. Everyone who had a hood also had an altered appearance. (Percy had purposely dyed his hair a bright blue and spiked it up. He looked like a very, very cute punk.)

She met Athena's eyes calmly. I've got nothing to hide, she thought to herself smugly. Unless one accounted for the fact that her name was not Alithia (well, technically it was), she had blonde hair and grey eyes, and oh, by the way, she was that daughter of Athena who'd run away about, say, four years ago.

Nothing to hide at all. Curious eyes assessed them. She could feel the gaze of the Olympians, analyzing their appearances.

"If you'll excuse us," she said coldly. "We have a war to prepare for. Soldiers, fall in."

Luke continued to sort the soldiers into groups as the Olympians trickled out. Soon, it was only Athena and Hestia left with them. Her mother gave a last, long calculating look at them. Seemingly satisfied, she nodded curtly before leaving. Hestia approached them, her eyes inviting and kind.

She walked to Percy, and the two began a low conversation she couldn't hear. Hestia told him something before reaching up to touch his face, her own alight with laughter, before she disappeared in a gust of smoke.

"Hoover dam," Percy muttered, making his way back to her side.

"What is it?" she asked, grabbing his hand. He shook his head, a slightly surprised but pleased expression on his face.

"Nothing," he told her, smiling. Gods, that hair and that smile... she would've melted into a puddle if there weren't twenty-nine other people watching in the room.

"Doesn't seem like nothing," she retorted, but she let it go. Probably wasn't very important.

He shook his head, a grin still on his face. "Hestia is Hestia." He took a deep breath.

"Can you imagine?" he asked. "We're home." Something about the way he said it latched onto her brain and wouldn't let go. A suspicion began to form in the back of her mind, but she kept it there.

"Yeah," she said.

"Hey, Pelagios and Alithia, if you lovebirds are done, we're ready!" Luke called. The splattering of laughter. Percy squeezed her hand, and she smiled at Luke.

"Thanks.. Luke," she said. He raised an eyebrow at the use of the name. Usually, they used their code names until they were sure it was safe. She shrugged at him. If anyone was listening, they would probably think Luke was short for Lucian. The name was close enough, one of the reasons he'd adopted the name.

"We'll be doing rounds with the camps. I split us up according to how we were originally, taking one soldier from each pair we chose, and then we're just split up evenly," Luke explained, gesturing at the ten of them. "I figured you two would want to stick together-"

Ethan coughed pointedly. "Damn right," he said, loud enough so everyone could hear. The commanders and soldiers all laughed at them, and Annabeth could feel a blush creep up from her neck. Percy just smiled winningly.

"So I pulled Zoe on Camp Jupiter's side," Luke finished, a wicked grin on his face from the interruption. She just sighed.

"Alright," she said, ignoring her feelings for a moment. "Listen up!"

Everyone snapped to attention, hearing the deadly authorization in her voice. She smirked inwardly. Some things would never change.

"We've been through war before. To be specific, we've done this before. I expect you all know what to do, and based on your strengths, what your positions will be. Remember why we are here. We pledged ourselves to Chaos. It's time to prove that Chaos wasn't wrong in choosing us."

Everyone cheered at that. Being in the Fellowship of Chaos was a big thing. It was the whole pledge thing she'd taken a whole lot of years ago, and it was something that played in their lives every day.

Then they all quieted, looking at Percy for his motivational part of the speech.

"Fellowship, um, let's go kick some enemy butt!"

Everyone roared even louder. Annabeth couldn't hold back her silly grin. While Percy wasn't the best with words, he was charged with life. People followed him. He could change the tide of an unspoken war within minutes. It was just a part of him. (Also, humor was always good in the face of battle. Usually, if she weren't so focused on surviving, she'd be rolling on the floor in fits of laughter with some of the comments Percy made.)

Percy grew more serious and jerked his head at Luke. He signed something Annabeth couldn't see, and Luke mock-saluted before turning away and pulling out a dagger.

"Let's go, guys!" Luke yelled, slicing the air. Rip. She could feel the threads of the universe changing and twisting together, ripping and reforming so they could go to San Francisco. Beside her, Percy was already doing the same.

The Fellowship gave one last roar before they calmed and marched in order to the other side.

Peleus raised his head, sniffed at them, and laid back down, uninterested. She wasn't looking at him, though.

The sight on the other side of the portal almost made her cry. Camp looked almost exactly as she remembered it - except everything was four years older, and oh man, the lava climbing wall had been remodeled.

"The climbing wall," Percy grumbled next to her, having spotted it as well. "Why couldn't they have remodeled it while we were here? That looks so much fun."

"Pelagios," she scolded gently, swatting his arm. "Now is not the time."

"That climbing wall does look really nice, though," Beckendorf said, stepping up. "I wonder if I could get the blueprints for those. Must have taken a lot of work to keep it stabilized, and the work with the lava flow in the far right is amazing."

Annabeth nodded in understanding. Percy looked flabbergasted. "Forget the stables or whatever, it just looks so cool."

"Pelagios, Kai," she said sharply. "We've been noticed."

"Uh, right," Percy said. He straightened his cloak and pulled on a calm face. Beckendorf retreated behind them as Chiron approached. There was a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows slung on his shoulder, but he didn't seem hostile. More weary, maybe, and cautious, but welcoming.

Her heart ached a bit. From Percy's expression, he knew how she was feeling. It was hard not to look at Chiron without wanting to run straight to him to hug him to death or something. He'd been the kind, understanding father-mentor guy for all the campers.

"Chiron," Percy said smoothly, his expression schooled into a calm but warm one. He dipped his head in a show of respect, as did many of the soldiers behind her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. We've heard a lot about you."

The corner of her mouth twitched just slightly.

"Ah, but I have not heard much about you, my boy," Chiron replied. Percy spread his hands. Annabeth said nothing, letting him speak. He was a people person. It was easy for him to smooth things between people, to keep things from going overboard.

"I'm Pelagios," Percy said, stepping forward with a smile and an outstretched hand. They shook hands.

One of the soldiers coughed pointedly. Percy sighed at Chiron, giving him a look that read, can you believe this guy?

"Excuse me," Percy corrected, rolling his eyes. "I am Commander Pelagios of the Fellowship of Chaos. We have come to aid the gods and demigods of Olympus in the upcoming war."

Chiron had a smile on his face. "Of course," he said. "The help is much appreciated. In truth, though I hate to admit it, our defenses have grown weaker. And.. we have lost a few people who were true leaders at heart and whom I dearly miss."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Percy said, flicking orders behind his back. Begin setting up wards. Kai, check defenses with Haroi. Cor, Aravis, your specialties. Everyone knows what to do. Will call when needed.

The Fellowship began to drift off, each to their own work.

"Where are your soldiers going?" Chiron asked, when it became clear they were moving off and about the camp.

"Just adding to the defense and such," Percy told him. "It's standard protocol; I'm sorry, we didn't mean to seem intrusive."

"Not at all, not at all," Chiron said dismissively, waving a hand. "I was merely surprised. And my dear, I don't believe you have introduced yourself?"

He looked at her. Percy nodded encouragingly, and she stepped forward and took Chiron's hand. "I am Commander Alithia. It's good to meet you, Chiron. I would've said something sooner if Pelagios hadn't kept talking," she teased lightly.

Percy just chuckled, and Chiron smiled. "Ah, in that case, it is good to meet you as well, Commander Alithia."

"It's just Alithia," she told him.

"Alithia, then," he corrected. "Your soldiers seem well acquainted with this camp."

"We had them look over maps before we came here. It was easier and beneficial," Percy cut in.

"Well in that case, I guess you won't be needing a tour." Chiron's eyes began to twinkle. "Now tell me, do commanders of giant armies enjoy a glass of lemonade. It is summer, after all, and there is nothing better than a war council with lemonade and those nymph-prepared cookies."

"I don't mind," Percy said quickly, eyes lighting up at the thought of food. Annabeth smiled fondly.

"If this idiot's going to go, I'd better come, too," she said, leaning in towards the centaur as if it were a secret to keep from Percy. "Commanders we might be, but Pelagios over there has a tendency to blow up random things and eat like a pig."

"Hey!"

Chiron chuckled and led the two of them to the Big House. "I believe we will be fast friends, Alithia, Pelagios."

She looked at the Big House, the bright, painted barn-like structure. She used to sit on the steps of the porch to read a book or sketch designs, listening to the hum of crickets, the yells of campers, and the arguing of Mr. D and Chiron as they played pinochle with an unfortunate satyr. She'd go inside for war council around the ping pong table. There had been wild parties held in the Big House. Sometimes, she'd escape to the back room and look at all the pictures hanging on the wall.

(...and, of course, despite the fact that most of them were underage, they would gather around the ping pong table and hold countless drinking games, strip Truth or Dare, and play Cards Against Humanity after all the younger campers went to bed. No kids under fifteen allowed.)

"Yeah," she said, accepting a tall glass. "I believe we will."


Aw, Chiron. So... how long has it been for this story again? I hit some writer's block, but last night I somehow pushed through it, so here you go! Don't be too mad.

...Since April's coming up, is anyone going to do Camp NaNo with me? (Say yes.)

That's all for today!

achieving elysium

Re-reading, and Chiron sounds like Dumbledore!