Hello my lovely demigods, or ducklings. Whichever you prefer.
Hey guys, I know this is late, but don't rush me. I just played 2 soccer games, and my teachers are out to murder me with homework! Thank you for your reviews, each one warmed my frozen heart! That's right, I'm a vampire. Just kidding! But, I love your reviews, and they make me want to write every moment of my life. For those of you who weren't aware, THE HOUSE OF HADES RELEASE DATE IS OUT! We must mentally prepare ourselves for the cliffy that awaits us on October 8th 2013.(in case you're too lazy to look it up, that's 232 days from now) So, anyway, to my lovely ducklings. I'm gonna go with ducklings. It's just funner to say! OH MY GODS MY COMPUTER JUST SAID FUNNER ISN'T A WORD! MY COMPUTER IS TURNING INTO MY GRAMMER TEACHER!
X: Yeah, I read above my age level too. And, I'm not actually sure what's wrong with me. I just love putting my favorite characters through hell and back, then watching them struggle their way through. If I can't imagine them struggling their way through, they're not really worthy of my story now are they?
Kooky565: Yay! I'm able to make people happy! Keep reading my dear.
7NationArmy: YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! I'm 11 and epic! Yeah, the feels I bring you astound you! I still think Uncle Rick is better though. *insert your compliment that makes me feel happy inside here* Are you into just typing random letters? That's totally cool!
Cemedance: I tried to really drag that out, I spent like 20 minutes on 200 words. I was like…My readers are gonna kill me for taking so long…epp! Please don't kill me I want to write for you!
Olive: None taken. And I really hate Rick's cliffhangers, so I try not to write them. I don't care if it ruined the cliffhanger. Like, whenever I complain to my mom about Rick's cliffhangers, she's like, He wants you to buy the next book, and I'm like, I would do it anyway! You guys would still read it, right? And that is a compliment to me. If you want me to hurry so you can read it, then I will update!
Sam99: Oceanus is working for Kronos. I love your stories too! And, I'm kinda updating right now…
Ultra Happy Peep: Yes. I'm a very deep perso- OHH GUMMY BEARS! If Rick doesn't give me Tartarus POVs, I will take a plane to Texas and find that man. I'm not even kidding. And I'm pretty sure, that eventually, Percabeth will be captured. It's gonna happen. BTW, thanks for your glowing darkness review. I'm making some minor changes to it tomorrow. OMFG did you see OUAT last night? HENRY! THE FEELINGS! I CRIED 4 TIMES!
Fantasy Girl Loves Fantasy: Yup! I do it now! Of course Annabeth's gonna be fine! Luke still has some feelings for her…Eww! K, never mind. But Annie's coming out of this okay. Percy, well. Um… Read.
Song of the Chapter: Who you are-Unspoken. (This song came on the radio and I was inspired by the chorus. You can ignore the Jesus part. No offense to those of you who aren't Christians, or Lutherans or whatever. Just listen to the song!)
Annabeth POV
Eventually, Luke had to drag me out of the room. I didn't want to leave Percy's side. It took him three fistfights, one dagger, and seven death threats for him to get me out. I took one last look at Percy's still, water-bound body, and allowed Luke to drag me away.
I thought I heard him muttering something about dumb blondes.
I wanted to kill him right there, but I knew that Oceanus wouldn't hesitate to kill Percy.
Percy. Amazing how many things were contained in that word. It meant ears that would listen to (almost) everything I had to say. It meant a mouth that could now recite the building date and architect of every monument in…everywhere. He actually listened to me. It meant indescribable eyes that reminded me of everything.
I let out a heavy sigh. I was really getting tired of titan bases. I didn't care if they had the best architecture in the world. I wanted to go home. Preferably with my boyfriend. Preferably with all of my limbs intact.
Luke huffs in annoyance, staring at me. I glare back, and he flinches under it. I sigh again. Percy wasn't afraid of my glare.
The doors in front of me open, and Kronos is behind them, staring directly at me.
"Hello, Annabeth."
Bobby the Builder Line break! To where the gods are discussing the plan to get Percy and Annabeth back.
Hestia watched from the hearth, silently guarding her family. Hestia had never had a family before. Hestia wanted her family back. Percy and Annabeth were some of the only two people who actually saw her, talked to her. Percy was like a son. She and Annabeth were as close as sisters.
Somebody had taken them, her children, and she would get them back. She needed to get them back.
She walked over to her brother, and to her niece, and allowed herself to cry.
Sometimes people don't think before they talk. Here are five examples:
Maddie Walker: Well, he's Percy so he'll be okay!
Drew Tanaka: Yeah, and who cares about that Anna girl anyway
Demeter: You should all have some cereal.
Aphrodite: AWW! They stayed together!
Hestia: SHUT UP! ARE YOU CIVILIZED PEOPLE OR KINDERGARDENERS? Except all kindergarteners are not bad…
Here are five examples of when people had useful things to say:
Thalia: Has anyone tried Iris messaging them?
Nico: They're not dead.
Poseidon: I can see if he- they're on the Princess Andromeda.
Leo: I'll make cookies for when you get them back! (That wasn't really useful, but it helped lighten the mood. Raise your hand if you could totally imagine Leo burning cookies)
Piper: Shut up, repair boy (that was useful because now Leo's not talking anymore.)
Here is a page from Thalia's journal recounting that day (pretend it's all dyslexic and stuff, I want you to be able to understand it):
Okay, I can't believe Artemis made me do this. I should be looking for them. But now I'm being forced to write into this thing. I'm pretty sure it's a notebook. Great, now I sound like one of those blonde (sorry Anna) popular brats who like to write diaries. Wonderful. But, this is a recount of what's going on today. For the first time in… forever, the gods are getting off their lazy podexes and helping their children. No offense to you if you're a god and reading this, but seriously, we're still kids and we need loving parents. Anyway, back to Percy and Annabeth. We tried IM-ing them, but it doesn't work. I've searched the entire woods, while the campers scoured everywhere inside the boundaries.
No. Freaking. Sign.
I'm so freaking worried. We just got kelp head back, and now Annabeth's gone too. But Nico found one thing. Blood. Percy's blood. It doesn't make us feel any better. At all.
You know what? Screw this. I'm gonna find a way. I need to. I owe them that much.
And if you ever tell anyone I'm this sentimental…
-Thalia Grace
What Thalia's doing right now (Thalia's POV):
I stared in horror at the IM before me. Annabeth lay unconscious on the ground, her left arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Percy laid on the ground, water securing his arms to his body, and his legs pinned to the ground. His chest was a mess of punctured skin, and broken bones his eyes were closed. I'd never seen the pair look this vulnerable.
I didn't notice Nico and Poseidon come up behind me, too transfixed on my best friends, brought so low.
I growled when my grandfather came into the picture.
"Grace." Kronos addressed me. I only nodded stiffly, refusing to give him a clue that his words had hurt me. I vaguely register the gasp that issues from Poseidon's mouth at the sight of his beloved son.
But I'm forced to acknowledge the earthquake that shakes my very bones.
"Release. My. Son." I hear a hard voice say from behind me.
A new, glowing green figure enters the IM. Oceanus.
"He's mine now."
Nico and I growl at this. Percy does not belong to anyone. Percy is a free demigod.
Percy's limp body begins to twitch, and the new figure lets out a sadistic grin.
I turn around, leaves crunching under my feet, and stare at my uncle. The look on Poseidon's face is so incredibly lost, full of grief, and a pain that is so deep I can't even begin to comprehend.
I turn my head back to face Percy, whose eyes are beginning to flutter open.
"Percy?" I ask, and I'm rewarded with a faint moan. Percy briefly struggles against the bindings, but he's too weak to free himself.
Green eyes flutter open and land on Annabeth's still body. Those same eyes widen and he screams her name.
The scream is cut off by a gag of water that Oceanus quickly molded between Percy's teeth.
From feet away I can hear Poseidon's teeth clench.
But Annabeth hears Percy's scream, and wakes up. She looks around, disoriented before her eyes land on Percy's struggling form.
"Percy?" She asks, and he's able to nod, before Oceanus encases him in water.
ANNABETH'S POV
"ANNA- " rouses me from my blissful slumber. Where I am safe, no one is hurting me. I open my eyes, and stare at Percy's open eyes. He's still bound, trapped in water but he's awake.
He's awake.
It's this realization that makes me forget about my arm, about what Kronos was going to make me do.
"Percy?" I ask tentatively, coming out of a coma like that probably scared him.
He's able to nod right before a wave washes over his body, effectively petrifying him. Even when the wave melts away, he's deathly still.
Tears burn at my eyes.
"Percy?" I ask, and am rewarded with a very weak cough. I ignore the throbbing in my arm, and run over to Percy's side. His eyelids are barely fluttering, but I can tell he's not dead.
I feel for his pulse, and gasp in horror at what used to be his wrist. It's a mess of blood and charred skin. The water has left rope burns on his wrist.
"Are you alright?" I ask, receiving another weak nod. Green peeks out at me, and I've never been more relieved. I allow a tear to trail slowly down my face, it traces down my cheek, then falls the short distance to Percy's bandaged chest.
I look away from the half-conscious boy on my lap, towards the IM in front of me.
"Thalia?" I ask, but Kronos answers.
"You have five minutes alone to tell them about our deal" He hisses, and I stare back at my friends, hopelessness clear in my eyes.
So... Not my best chapter, but my muse is currently sick and I have no access to her. So... Yeah, sorry about the shortness of this. I'm really sorry I let you down. I'm just... crying right now. Any of you see UOAT last night? HENRY! "I thought you were different from her. She always lied to me, too." *SOBS* I need to go cry now, byez.