A/N: Howdy peeps! It's AK with another lovely chapter of WIR! Also, is it just me, or is the word count going up, up and... up?

Well, anyways.

Enjoy this whooper of a chapter!

Warning: If you have Arachnophobia (severe fear of spiders), stop at "She would manage. As she always did." There is a line break there. Leave the next portion and go to "She was in her cabin." It's nothing drastic, but I'm a worry wart. Better safe than sorry, eh?

Book one

Arc Three: Creating Cross currents

Chapter 12: Objects in motion

A seven year old girl clutched her safety blanket to her chest.

Thinking logically, it would actually provide her little to no safety from the horrors that she knew would come to haunt her.

Nevertheless, she felt comforted by its worn softness.

As some would say, it was the thought that counts.

In any case, the placebo effect is clinically proven after all.

And right now, she needed every bit of comfort she could get.

Her grey eyes were red rimmed as she stared at the door of her bedroom.

Her knees were hugged to her chest by skinny arms.

The line of her spine spelt caution.

She could hear the murmur of voices… a man's and a woman's.

Her father and her step mother, to be exact.

Ah, grownups were strange.

They were too blinded by what they knew to see what they didn't.

To put it kindly, they were fools.

She tilted her head to try to listen in on their conversation.

She caught a few bits and pieces.

'…she's taking crazy… monsters and knives… the spiders…"

Her head felt heavy.

She let it hang to the left.

She was sure that if they saw her now, they would be convinced that she'd gone insane.

She certainly looked the part.

In a way they would be right.

Two sleepless nights had frayed her nerves.

She had to admit it made her wonder:

How long could a person go without sleep?

She cast her mind into the comfort of numbers.

Though Maureen Weston held the current record at 449 hours, Randy Gardner held the most documented one at 264.4 hours.

But some sources say that he had been uncoordinated and hallucinating towards the end.

Maybe she should wonder how long could she go without sleep before she went insane instead?

She was hyper-aware of every little sound and movement.

She tensed as familiar footsteps were heard outside her door, the floorboards creaking softly.

But as they grew fainter, she paid them no heed.

…They never did believe her when she told them.

Nor would they ever believe her.

'Don't worry, honey,' they would say,

...As if. She knew how much they hated her.

'The monsters aren't real.'

...They were real.

'They won't hurt you.'

...They would try their best to.

'Just close your eyes.'

Just how could she when- dammit!

The monsters were real, and they would try to hurt her.

And sometimes, they would succeed too.

She had the scars to prove it.

However, the scars disappeared in the sunlight, like the monsters themselves.

She had no concrete evidence.

But as Carl Sagan rightly said, 'Absence of evidence was not evidence of absence'.

...So why wouldn't anyone listen?

She thumbed her blanket moodily.

She sighed and pulled her head back up.

Her hair had weighed her head down in an awkward angle.

It gave her a head ache.

She tried to ease away the pain with her hands.

They were cold as snow, but the cold helped to numb the throbbing ache.

She would manage.

As she always did.

Of all of the monsters that visited her, there was one thing that struck terror in her heart surer than anything else-

The spiders.

The spiders were the worst of them all.

She shuddered at just their very mention.

Those eight legged arachnids with beady eyes- no!

No, she couldn't bear to think of them.

The mere sight of them had her paralyzed with fear.

But this time, this time she was prepared.

She had a plan of action.

If the spiders came to hurt her, she would hurt. them. back.

She knew how to do that now.

She slowly leaned back, and lay down.

Her hair blocked the sight of her hand from any unannounced visitors.

Her fingers grazed the smoothness of wood.

She kept an ear out for footsteps.

She didn't want anything, or anyone, to mess up her plan.

And if the grownups knew what it was, they'd take away the key element.

She ran her finger along its blunt end.

She had stolen it from her father's tool box and stowed it under her pillow.

It didn't give her the same comfort she received from her blanket.

No, the comfort that she eked out of it was cold, cold as steel.

They wouldn't hurt her now.

They couldn't hurt her now.

She tried to convince herself by repeating that phrase in her mind.

Her golden locks splayed across her pillow as she curled into her side and waited.

A minute passed…

Two…

…Then ten.

And so many more that she lost count.

She felt her eyelids grow heavy, her hair tickled her cheek.

Her pillow was soft against her cheek and her covers warm against her side.

Hypnos had her entranced.

She was about to doze off when she startled awake at a soft sound.

She started, propping herself on her elbows to peer at the door.

When nothing happened, she let her shoulders relax a bit.

But she had seen enough horror flicks to let her guard down.

She strained her ears for any sound that would notify her of any new arrival.

Suddenly she sat up fully.

She knew she had heard something.

A scurrying something.

The door creaked open ominously.

She whipped out what was under her pillow- a hammer.

She held it threateningly above her head.

Her heart pounded in her throat as nothing happened for one long minute.

Just as she was about to relax, she drew up again, as taut as a bowstring.

Then she screamed shrilly.

Sweat dripped on her brow as she gazed with horror at the sight and sound of a million little creatures flooding into the room.

Within seconds, they were clambering on the walls and creeping along the floor.

She tried to squash them with her weapon, but if one fell, several others took its place.

The little girl screamed in terror, her usually sharp mind going blank with fear as the light grey walls and white marble floor of her bedroom were rapidly becoming dark as the small room filled with spiders.

She screeched shrilly and scrambled away as a small something fell on her blanket.

She wouldn't look up.

She had a dreadful feeling of what she would see.

But her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they were slowly but surely drawn towards the ceiling.

She stared.

Millions upon millions of tiny eyes stared back at her.

She couldn't help it.

She screamed again, so loud that her own ears were ringing.

As her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, one the spiders on the ceiling let go.

The rest of them followed and they fell upon her.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She took back everything she said about adults.

She really, really wanted her father by her side.

Heck, she'd even take her step mom.

The little beasts would scurry into the shadows whenever she turned on the light.

But this was the third time it happened.

If she had learnt anything from the last two times, it was this:

Help wouldn't come.

She could do nothing but scream and thrash about as the spiders crawled upon and over her.

The innumerable arachnids crawled over her face, and the girl gagged as one nearly fell into her mouth.

She got up and shook herself free, her face pale.

She didn't have much time- the floor was filling up with the arachnids.

One quick sweep sent them flying off the bed; one swift dive got her under her covers.

She drew the blankets over her head, in a hurry.

She wrapped herself up like a mummy.

She rolled around to get rid of any stragglers.

And one she felt herself safe, the tears fell.

The girl choked on her sobs.

She tried to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth and throat as she pressed her lips tightly together and shut her eyes.

She felt helpless.

Next time, next time she would have the upper hand... no.

That was useless.

It was better to run- run far, far away.

She was so tired, tired of it all.

She promised herself that it was the last time.

Tomorrow, she would pack her bags and sneak out.

From there on, she'll go wherever her feet took her.

But for now, there was nothing that could be done.

Not until dawn, when the sunlight would stream through the windows and the creepy-crawlies would scatter without trace, like dust in the wind.

Annabeth woke up with a gasp.

She was in her cabin.

Her siblings were still asleep in their respective beds.

It was night outside her window.

And it was miraculously spider-free.

She exhaled sharply.

Her more nightmares were more frequent than usual.

You'd think she'd be used to it by now, but it wasn't so.

She tried to recall the skeletal details.

Best get it out of her system before something hurt.

Her frame trembled as she recalled the terrifying sight of the beady eyes on the ceiling.

Ah, that one wasn't a nightmare, per se.

That one was a memory.

She brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tight, just as she had done eight years ago.

Tears breached her eyelashes and slipped down her cheeks.

Each and every grotesque detail of her nightmare was burnt in front of her eyelids.

She ran them through her mind as their horror faded slowly but surely.

She waited until her form stopped trembling and her breath evened out a bit.

She took in deep breathes, and soon, she felt the dark tendrils of terror leave her mind completely.

She wiped her cheeks dry.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep for quite a while.

But she wasn't all that enthused about staying up.

The torches outside her cabin provided very little light, providing an ominous feel.

Moreover, they were unsteady- casting flickering shadows that made her shiver.

In the dark, the Cabin had lost its usual warmth.

She sighed and drew her covers closer to herself.

Was there no end to it?

Just the, an owl hooted outside the window.

Annabeth's lips curved softly.

It almost felt as if her mother was comforting her after her ordeal.

She peered outside the window near her bed.

Though the sun hadn't come up yet, its rays were lightening the lower skyline.

She should be getting ready for her quest.

Annabeth double checked the contents of her bag.

Naturally, she had her dagger and other necessities.

She stowed away a few extra clothes.

She knew first-hand that even a ratty scarf could go a long way on a cold winter night.

There was also length of rope because, as some would say, you'll only need it if you don't have it.

A few granola bars and a box of Pringles went in, in case of emergencies.

(Experience told her that the chips would be smashed to pieces soon enough. She told experience to can it.)

She also had a blanket, her Yankees cap, a thermos of cocoa, a book on Greek monsters, a pouch with some drachmas and a lighter.

But she was missing something…

Oh, of course!

She had used all of the ambrosia on Nico di Angelo.

She felt a pang of guilt at the memory of her carelessness.

She should have taken consideration of all the factors in regards to the situation.

It wasn't like her usual self to make such a major mistake.

...Thank the Gods that Apollo was at hand to help.

Death due to an overdose of godly food would have been a poor return to someone who just saved her friends.

Annabeth slung the satchel across her right shoulder and made her way to the infirmary.

And the kid truly had saved her friends.

She could hardly believe her eyes when the younger di Angelo turned the Manticore into a monster shish-kebab.

Truth be told, she had been mightily impressed by the boy.

Who wouldn't be if one sees a mere child kill a monster over three times their size?

And there was just something about that kid which seemed to scream 'veteran' in a way that no one could deny...

He probably had a rough life prior to this.

But that there, was another curious thing of note.

In the many years she was a part of Camp Half Blood, she had witnessed the arrival of many young demigods.

Each had their own unique story to tell and not all of them had been as fortunate as she had been.

But if one had a curious mind, one could draw out the similarities of various cases.

And so, she knew this-

If a pair of siblings go through some form of hardship, it was usually the elder one who would seem worse for the wear.

This was because, in any regular case, the elder sibling would take up extra responsibilities and the brunt of the burden to spare the younger one.

Naturally, there were exceptions.

Science was the art of exception, after all.

Annabeth knew that better than anyone.

But the curiousness lay elsewhere.

At first, Annabeth thought Bianca was the anomaly.

She soon deduced that it wasn't the case.

She had noticed that Bianca had an eye for her brother's well-being that could only be precise by practice.

It showed itself in the Sun chariot, where Bianca noted her brother's discomfort long before anyone had even an inkling that something was wrong.

She could also see that something of her brother's behavior was troubling Bianca.

Maybe it wasn't a conscious action.

But every now and then, she would touch Nico on his arm or on his shoulder (whenever he would allow her), as if to confirm that her brother was alright.

Naturally, Annabeth may be over thinking it.

It may have been because Bianca had seen her brother brush the hem of Death's cloak twice that day.

Additionally, she was not able to spend ample time with him after she joined the Hunters.

And the Hunters, oh the Hunters.

Annabeth sighed.

They seemed so perfect.

They stood for the idea of freedom, belonging to a sisterhood, and... of a life free of heartbreak…

She shook her head to ward off thoughts of a certain blue-eyed blonde-haired boy.

She hadn't joined the Hunters the first time the offered, mostly because Thalia hated them, and seeing that Thalia gave up her life for her, it had seemed like a poor return.

But now that Thalia was human again…

Well, it certainly opened up many new and exciting possibilities.

Possibilities of which Lady Artemis had spoken to her privately about after her talk with Nico di Angelo.

And there, there was another puzzle to solve.

What was Nico di Angelo's deal with Artemis?

'Settling matters' Lady Artemis had said when Annabeth asked...

But why would Lady Artemis want to settle matters with a child?

A male, no less?

It was strange enough that neither Nico nor Artemis revealed the fine details of their conversation.

Annabeth had an inkling that it was about the dream Nico had.

She felt a shudder go down her spine as she recalled the way Nico had spoken of that dream of his.

The tone of his voice had disturbed her.

And now, she felt worry gnawing at her insides.

That boy had a penchant for trouble.

Nico was a young boy, but his manner of speaking and the way that he held himself that made him seem like he was much older than he was.

Not to mention his sharp eye for detail and sharper wit.

But here, she reached her destination- the infirmary.

Annabeth stepped into the building and looked around.

It was devoid of human life.

What?

Where were the...?

Ah.

The Apollo campers... rose with the sun.

Annabeth heard a shuffle of feet behind her.

She whirled around startled to see a pair of blue eyes peering out of a mop of blond hair.

"Um, may I help you Ms. Annabeth?" asked the child.

"Ah, yes. Please..."

After a few polite words, she received a slab of ambrosia from the Apollo kid, Will Solace, she reminded herself as he smiled brightly, though sleepily, at her.

She smiled in return and snuggled the nectar safely into her bag. She left the infirmary and made her way to the Big House.

It was almost first light, it would only be a little while before the horizon lazily lighting up with the sullen hues of dawn.

Annabeth snapped her head to the side at the sight of a moving shadow.

She stilled completely, save for the hand slipping into her pocket and pulling out her Yankees cap.

She silently slipped it on her head and soundlessly made her way towards whatever it was.

She seriously hoped that it wasn't a monster.

Yes, Thalia's tree still gave camp an impenetrable barrier, but Luke had meddled with it once and would meddle with it again if he could.

But her fears were put to rest as she recognized the silhouette hidden behind the Greek column.

It was Nico di Angelo.

Annabeth wasn't sure why she was surprised.

That boy was a magnet for trouble. He was even worse than Percy!

Well… almost worse.

He wasn't the one who had the Greek God of War as an enemy.

Annabeth felt her lips curve slightly at the thought of the Seaweed Brain.

But back to di Angelo.

What was the little devil up to now?

Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, Nico whipped his head around and peered suspiciously into the darkness.

"Who is there?" he whispered.

Annabeth took off her cap with a flourish.

"Annabeth? How- Oh, your invisibility cap."

Annabeth nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Nico whispered, shoulders relaxing slightly.

Annabeth indicated the thermos tucked under her arm and said, "I could ask the same to you."

"Well, it's a bit of a long story."

"I've got some time to spare."

Nico took a deep breath in.

"Well, at first, I was at my Cabin, but I woke up couldn't go back to sleep, so I was looking out of the window for a while, but then I heard some voices outside the window. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I recognized one of them as Bianca's. She sounded really worried and sort of scared, so I decided to go after her, in case she needed help,"

"Who was she with?" asked Annabeth.

It would be bad to be seen with unknown personnel... especially in a time like this.

"The Head Hunter girl with her. Uh, Zoë Nightshade."

Annabeth sighed with relief.

"Go on," she said.

"Zoe also seemed tense. So I thought that Bianca might be in trouble. Especially since some Hunters were saying that she was sort of responsible for the Hunters losing the Capture the Flag. And like, they have lost for the first time in-"

"First time in fifty years, yes, but what does this have to do with you out here?"

"Well... you see, during the game of Capture the flag, I was at the clearing where the Huntresses hid their flag. Not that it was particularly hidden... And as you know, Bianca was the guard. I didn't do much on the whole, but she got distracted when she saw me and that may or may not have cost the Huntresses their game..."

Annabeth was speechless.

"Stick to your post next time," she said, finally.

She made a mental note to never leave Nico alone with the Hunters if she could help it.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

"Never mind that. So they were talking about the match," prompted Annabeth.

"No, actually, I just thought that they were. Once I followed them a bit, I realized that they were talking about the Quest. Sure, it's my sister's first quest, and I'm really proud of her, but the Prophesy itself seems… I had to make sure that she was alright," said Nico uncertainly.

"Yeah, I get what you mean," said Annabeth soothing.

It must be hard on him.

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"They said that that Phoebe girl was in bed rest with a severe case of hives."

Annabeth's mood immediately soured at the mention of her fellow Quest-mate's ailment.

Her mind recalled the Stolls' suspicious present.

She groaned.

"Do you mean to say that Phoebe is unable to participate in the Quest?"

Nico nodded seriously.

"I think you will need another to replace her. But Zoë was adamant about not having anyone else."

"What- but why?"

"She said something about... uh, what was it? Barriers, land without rain and losing things. Something like that."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Annabeth argued.

"Well, yeah, I didn't hear everything, but-"

"That's not what I meant. Sure, 'the land without rain' may refer to Camp Half Blood as the magical barrier doesn't let anything in without consent, not even the weather. But the border has only been here for seven years. And I'm sure that it has rained at least once since then."

Annabeth huffed.

"She's just trying to justify her actions."

"Umm… okay?" said Nico, hesitant.

"And I bet Zoë knows that too," said Annabeth, in a 'putting-two-and-two-together' voice, "And I think I can get where she comes from. Just think about it."

"Think about what- Okay, I get it. I'll just shut up now..."

Nico was quiet as Annabeth tried to see the point from the Huntress's perspective.

"She's worried about the Prophesy," she deduced.

"Especially about the last line. I believe there is something she has not divulged a few potentially important aspects of her dream to her fellow Quest-mates… and I think she knows, or at least, suspects, who the 'General' is. She doesn't want to lose any of her Hunters."

Annabeth looked at Nico with expectant eyes.

"...Well, whoever Zoë may be as a person, she is deeply loyal to Lady Artemis and the Hunters," obliged Nico, putting in his own two cents.

"She's trying to make sure that no one else gets into the mess," said Annabeth, understanding washing over her like the tide, "But… that also means that she will not budge on her decision. No matter what I say will to convince her. So maybe I should follow her lead..."

There was silence for a while.

Annabeth had a nagging feeling that somewhere, something was amiss.

She thought back to what she just said.

It felt like she was prodding at a loose tooth.

Nico was looking at Annabeth as if he was waiting for her to figure it out so that he could leave.

His expression reminded her of her younger step-brother.

He was at the age where he was loosing his milk teeth and her step-mother had said...

'It will fall when the time comes. You can't ask the sun to rise earlier can you?'

Something clicked.

Dread pooled in Annabeth's stomach at the sudden thought.

"But Chiron said that we'd leave at dawn,"

"…Yes?"

"That means the Quest starts at dawn," Annabeth clarified.

Nico looked even more confused.

"The Quest, the Quest," said Annabeth impatiently.

"She wasn't supposed to be a part of the Quest then?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes," said Annabeth, mind working at a hundred miles per hour, "The last member must leave with us. Assuming of course, that Zoë Nightshade accepts the new member."

Nico frowned.

"I see...?"

"I don't think we have the time for that. If I want to get Nightshade's approval, we won't have a replacement."

"But that wouldn't that mean-"

"That would mean we would be going into an already lethal quest with one person short," said Annabeth nodding her head.

Nico looked like she had thrown him off a cliff.

Suddenly, Annabeth realized that she had probably said too much.

The whole conversation started because Nico was worrying about his sister, after all.

"Um, but-"

"Well then," Nico cut in, "I'll be heading back to the Hermes cabin."

"...Huh?"

He turned tail and walked away with long strides.

Annabeth felt a bit wrong-footed.

Did she miss something?

He stopped, just as sudden as he started.

He looked back, hesitant, "I wasn't going to say anything because it's your quest after all, but if- nah, forget it."

Annabeth was curious.

"What is it?"

"Never mind that. But a word of advice. If I'm not wrong, Phoebe is a tracker. To replace her, I suggest looking for a certain Satyr."

A satyr? Does he mean Grover? Annabeth wondered.

"What? But why?"

"Call it a hunch," Nico said as he made his way back to the Hermes Cabin.

"Good luck," he threw over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought.

At that moment, Annabeth felt that of all the boys in the world, she understood that boy the least.

Bonus: Even as the two parted ways, one deeply troubled and the other deep in thought, neither of them noticed a pair of hurt, jealous green eyes listening to every word of their exchange.

Preview:

Bianca glanced out of the window of the Lexus on the 'Sun West Line' freight train.

...But if a girl could dream…

...Her Lady needed saving. No matter at what cost.

...The giant robot above her exploded.

...Nico, brother, forgive me.

...What kind of sorcery was this?

... "Lu-Luke Callestan."

...She had fallen asleep on the statues.

...Mount Othrys. The Mountain of Despair.

...It did not back down. And neither did she.

...Let's get this show on the road.

...Landon's injuries would hinder her ability to fight.

...Her loss was mourned by many.

...Only one of the two was completely unsuspicious of his tumble through time.

Anon reviews: You lovelies! Each and every one of you!

Guest: jhalkjheefhksdjfk (a keyboard smash to make your day)/ Thank you m'dear!

Guest:The power shift thing's pretty cool... seems like Nico's not planning to settle in?/ I'm glad you think so! And no he isn't, at least, not yet.

DerangedFangirl: I'm glad you liked the story! And I'm sorry the stories per arc is confusing. Maybe I can set the whose of the next book as one story, but I'll have to think about it. But thank you for informing me about this!

MisterWhite: Thanks! Malcolm is a severely underrated character in the series and I wanted him to get some spotlight. And yes, all of the team names are references to some fandom or the other. And (correct me if I'm wrong) you think Percy is the Harbinger, eh? Interesting...

Matt: Ah, thanks for pointing it out, it's fixed now! And I've given another, hopefully clearer, hint on who it is at the end of the chapter.

BaraBara: I'm glad you liked Nico's characterization!

A/N: I'll repeat the question:

Who do you think the Harbinger is?

(Hint: Refer Chapter 6: Flashbacks and Echoes. He has a POV all to himself.)