First off, I apologize for taking so long to update. I have no excuse other than I got distracted by other stories, some on this site, some original works. But my muse did pick up a bit for this, at least, so that's something.
pjsandwich: Nico is still alive, promise. He will show up next chapter, which is later than I planned, if I'm honest, but c'est la vie. Jason shows up this chapter. No worries XD
Enchiladas: Yay! Wicked forever! x3
AthenaMonaLisa: Hehe... sorry. *hides*
Bolle Accidentali: Good, that's exactly the reaction I was looking for XD Now keep in mind... that and worse had been going on for roughly a month and a half, probably a little more, before that flashback. Chew on that for a while.
Flame: Called it. XD Well done. You know me too well.
Edit: This was supposed to be posted last night, but Dragon was a dummy and forgot XD Whoops...
Word count: 2,265
Percy was having a bad day. And more than just your standard end-of-the-world, fighting-a-hopeless-battle, Titans-have-taken-over type bad day. More like a, Hey, your worst enemies are all coming back to kill you! kind of day. Which he supposed was standard, for him.
He spun, eyes focused very stubbornly on his own blade, angling the sword in an attempt to catch sight of his adversaries in its reflection. "They'll stay down a lifetime at least, she said," he muttered. "They don't reform that fast, she said. Gah!" Something knocked into the backs of his knees and swept his feet out from under him. The son of the sea god landed hard on his back, the air crushed out of his lungs. He gasped, winded, trying to force oxygen to reenter his lungs; a shadow fell over him and he remembered almost too late to slam his eyes shut as a thousand hisses echoed in his ears. Percy groped for Riptide and slashed upward blindly. A shriek of pain pierced the air, and he heard her stumble away. He scrambled to his feet, holding his shield up – he wished that the engraved images didn't mangle the reflection so much he couldn't see the gorgons in it.
"Persssseussss Jacksssson," she hissed.
"Look, ladies, we can talk about this -" He instinctively blocked a strike from something - "really, we can figure this out!"
"Never," a different voice snarled. Percy swung, opening his eyes again at the raspier voice of the second gorgon. She wailed as Riptide scratched her shoulder – not a wound deep enough to vaporize her, but Percy could hear the would sizzling, the essence of the Celestial bronze eating away at her being. The lime green snakes that made up her hair hissed and writhed in pain.
"Euryale!" the first voice cried, and Percy closed his eyes again as he turned to meet her lunge. Bronze talons screeched against his shield, and he slashed blindly. There was a puff of wind and a scream as she exploded into dust, accompanied by the dull thud of her head hitting the ground. He whirled to face the second gorgon, eyes snapping open again, and realized something suddenly, a curse slipping off his tongue.
Where's the third one?
"G'night!" Stheno chirped from behind him, and something hit Percy hard on the back of the head. He fell, knees buckling, as the world around him went fuzzy. The last thing he could remember hearing was Stheno asking if Euryale was sure they couldn't kill him.
Before he could hear Euryale's reply, the world went dark and he lost consciousness.
Jason woke to the sound of voices and rattling chains. He sat up on the cot, turning his face toward the little light that made it down to him. "Throw him in her old cell," a deep voice – Laistrygonian, or maybe Cyclops – rumbled.
A nervous giggle reached Jason. "There's irony for you, eh, Brutus?" She stopped talking abruptly as Brutus growled warningly and the three came into view – two dracaenae and a Cyclops. He recognized the younger dracaena; her name was something unpronounceable, but she told Jason to call her Jenny. She was notoriously talkative and Jason's main way of finding out what was going on in the upstairs world. Between the dracaenae was a fourth figure, a human figure. The Cyclops, Brutus, opened the door to the cell across from Jason's, and the dracaenae dragged the human into it and dropped him there, hastily retreating when he stirred. Jason remained still until the monsters were gone, then scooted closer to the bars and peered into the dimly lit hallway in an attempt to discern some sort of identity.
The boy raised his head, but Jason couldn't see much more than an outline. He didn't appear to realize there was anyone else there; he sat up slowly and looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nice rooms," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Jason agreed, making his new neighbor jump. He leaned against the bars. "Sorry. Welcome to the dungeon of the Titans."
"Who are you?" the boy asked, inching closer to the bars on his side in an effort to see.
"Name's Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."
"Jupiter..." He sounded as if he were frowning, confused. "Zeus?"
"You're a Greek," Jason noted.
"As opposed to?"
"Roman. Specifically, this one used to be praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata," he added, jerking his thumb at his own chest. "Before the legion was overrun, anyway."
The boy shook his head. "Because one set of gods wasn't enough."
Jason smiled half-heartedly. "So who are you?"
Sea green eyes glinted at him as the light from the torches on the wall shifted and flickered. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."
Jason leaned back slightly, eyes wide. "Heard the name. The man upstairs has been going half crazy trying to find you for the last six months or so."
"Who?"
"The Titan Lord."
"Kro-"
"Don't," Jason interrupted quickly, before he could finish. "Don't say his name. That'll only get his attention, and trust me, you don't want that. But yeah, that guy. How did you stay out of here for so long?"
"Well, being able to breathe underwater helps," Percy said mildly. "Having a friendly neighborhood demigod dolphin helps too."
"A – what?"
He might have smiled, but it was hard to see. "Never mind. Long story."
"So how did he finally catch you?" Jason asked quietly after a moment.
Percy was silent for a time. Finally, he explained, "I fell into a stupid trap. I was... I was looking for an old friend. I got word she might have been seen by one of the naiads, but..." He shrugged. "I didn't find her." He rubbed his temples. "I know it's not very likely she's still alive, but she's come through for me a dozen times when the odds were pretty good I was dead or dying. She's saved my life before. I... I don't know what I'll do if I never find her."
"What's her name?" Jason asked. "I might have gotten word of her – some of the monsters that get assigned to dungeon duty are pretty talkative. They like bragging."
"Annabeth," Percy said. "Her name is Annabeth."
Jason stopped, stunned into silence. "Annabeth," he stammered. "As in, Annabeth Chase?" It can't be.
"Yeah," Percy said, surprised and suddenly anxious. "Why? Do you know her? Where is she?"
"Annabeth Chase is your girlfriend?"
"Yes – wait, no, she's not my girlfriend, but – where is she? What happened to her? Is she here?" The panic in his voice was growing, but Jason was still stunned, trying to process how he was supposed to tell Percy that his best friend, whom he obviously was in love with, was serving Kronos now.
"She's here, all right," Jason murmured, "but you're not going to like it."
"Why? What happened to her?" Percy shouted, grabbing the bars as if he'd like to grab Jason by the shoulders and shake him against the wall. "Annabeth!"
"Shut up!" Jason hissed. "Someone is going to hear you, and then we're both done for!"
"I don't care," Percy snarled. "Annabeth!"
Whatever either one of them was going to say next was cut off by a familiar voice echoing faintly down the hall. "What in... what is going on down there?"
"Annabeth," Percy gasped. "I'm here! It's me, Percy! Where are you?"
"Percy?" Her voice shook. Someone hissed, a dracaena guard, probably, and she snapped, "Let me through, curse it all!" A series of hisses and snarls ensued, and the light brightened as pounding feet carried a torch down the hall, bringing a shadow with it that fell across Jason and made him flinch.
Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, practically threw the torch she was holding into an empty sconce on the wall, peering into the cell that had once held her. Percy's face, clear for the first time to Jason, showed immense relief, as if the weight of the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. Annabeth, for her part, seemed as unscathed as ever, blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, but she flung herself toward Percy without regard for her crimson business suit, kissing him where the bars were far enough apart for their lips to meet with a desperation that seemed to surprise Percy and even Annabeth herself. When they broke apart, she gasped, "Percy, I thought – they told me you were dead, that they found your body, that -" She dashed away the tears threatening to spill over.
"Annabeth, you're alive," he breathed, squeezing his arms through the bars to hold her at arm's length, each of them holding the other's shoulders as if they might never let go again. For the first time, he seemed to notice her appearance – how well-dressed she was, the lack of marks on her skin. "How... what..." He gestured helplessly to her impeccable business suit, and the silence while she formulated her answer was deafening.
Jason, watching all this grimly, spoke again quietly. "Percy, look at her arm."
"What..." His eyes flew down to the exposed inside of her forearm; she grimaced and tried to turn it away, but he wouldn't let her, staring at the black marks burned there in confused horror.
Crossed scythes each emblazoned with an omega, with a word beneath.
Κρωνωσ. Kronos, in Ancient Greek.
"Annabeth, what..."
"Percy, I..."
Jason sighed. "She gave in to him, Percy. He would have killed her otherwise." Percy's eyes flicked to him, desperately hoping, praying that Jason wasn't saying what Percy thought he was saying. Unfortunately, Jason didn't intend to lie to him, even if the truth hurt him more than the lies ever could.
"She serves Kronos now."
"She serves Kronos now," Jason said, and the bitterness in his voice made her flinch.
Percy's eyes flew back to hers. "No. No, that can't be right." Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, but her throat had closed up and she couldn't make a sound. "Annabeth?" he asked, pleading, and she couldn't hold his gaze any longer, dropping her eyes away.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, and his hands fell from her arms, pulling away. She looked up again. "Percy, please – there was no other way; he would have killed me! I didn't have a choice!"
"How could you, Annabeth?" he shouted, suddenly angry, and she stumbled back a step, shrinking away from the thunder in his voice, half expecting a blow to come with it even though she knew that Percy would never hurt her. "How could you join him, after everything he's done?"
"I didn't have a choice," she repeated hoarsely, tears burning in her eyes. "What would you have done?"
She knew the answer before he said it. "I would have died!" he screamed. "I would have died before joining forces with him!"
"Percy, please," she begged. "Someone is going to hear you!"
"I don't care! It doesn't matter, does it? They're going to kill me anyway. And what are you going to do about it?" he snarled. She backed up another step, and her back hit the bars of Jason's cell. "Are you just going to stand there and watch while they kill me?"
"I -"
"What is going on down here?" boomed a voice that made Annabeth flinch and cower away, unable to stop herself in the state she was already in. Fiery eyes glowed at Annabeth and Percy. "Well, Chase, looks like you found our little secret already. Lord Kronos will be rather... displeased with you, don't you think?"
Annabeth winced, but forced herself to stand up as straight as she could, refusing to acknowledge the fact that her face was still stained with tears. Before she could react, Percy growled, "Hyperion, right? Didn't Grover turn you into a tree?"
Hyperion narrowed his eyes. "My brethren freed me from that prison with little difficulty once the spirit of the Wild was sufficiently... subdued." He grinned savagely, teeth like molten silver. "Fire is good for that, no?"
"Where's Kronos?" Percy asked, eyes flashing. Annabeth shot him a panicked glance. "Still having you do his dirty work? Tell him to come down here and face me himself."
"Percy, don't," Annabeth whispered, and the look of utter hatred on his face when he looked at her was more painful than a thousand lashes – and if anyone knew what that felt like, it was Annabeth.
"Silence, Chase," Hyperion snapped, and she flinched. "Perseus Jackson, Lord Kronos will be visiting you soon enough. As for you, Annabeth, I think Lord Kronos will want to speak with you as well, don't you?"
He snapped his fingers, a gesture he used purely because he knew she hated it, and she reluctantly drew nearer to him. "As you wish... Lord Hyperion." Every word ground out, every word she hated herself more for, but she spoke them anyway. He heard the thinly concealed self-loathing in her voice and smirked slightly, knowing as well as she did that she had little choice but to obey.
"Lord Hyperion," Percy said, disbelief evident in his voice. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "There was a day you sometimes didn't even call the gods Lord and Lady."
"Times have changed," Hyperion said smoothly. "Chase has learned that to survive, even the most powerful demigods must learn to bow to their rightful overlords. Isn't that right, Annabeth?"
She hated it when he used her first name, and he knew that, too. She clenched her jaw, and his eyes narrowed, waiting for a response. Finally, she nodded stiffly.
I'm sorry, Percy.
I say again: No one ever said I was a nice person.
That said... *hides before the pitchforks come out* I'M SORRY PERCABETH SHIPPERS IT HAD TO BE DONE I LOVE THEM TOO I PROMISE {The same way you love your castmates, whom you keep stabbing with the feels dagger?} Yes. Exactly like that.
Reviews, please! (Don't kill me XD) Thank you for reading, and I'll see y'all next time!