Me, Jason and Percy went into the woods. We were far from Camp Jupiter.
"Alright, now that we've determined our course of action, now we need to decide who's going to be bait." Jason said.
"I'll do it. I need to call my mom anyways." Percy said.
"Are you going to tell her the big news?" I asked.
"Not yet. There's too much going on right now." Percy said.
He took off his bracelet, put it in his pocket and got out his cellphone. Jason got out the ropes as the two of us hid behind a bush. Percy started calling his mother, Sally Jackson. Percy said he wasn't going to tell her that we were expecting a child. I wondered what her reaction would be when she finally did find out.
"Hello mom. I meant to call you earlier, but, I haven't been able to find the time." he said. There was a brief period of silence. "Why? Well, it's a pretty long story. How's my little sister doing?" Another moment of silence. "That's great to hear. I know her birthday's coming up pretty soon. If I can find the time, maybe I can get her a real birthday present. If not, then I'll just do what I did last year; a birthday card with about $20 in cash." More silence. "Keeping you in the dark? That's crazy talk." He was obviously lying, and probably not very well. We couldn't hear what Mrs. Jackson was saying. "Well, it's a long story and I..." He noticed a hellhound. "I'm going to have to call you back."
He hung up. Me and Jason bound the hellhound with rope. The monster attempted to bite me but I quickly sidestepped and avoided his attack. (I have no idea whether it's really a boy or girl, so bear with me.) I got out a piece of Pollux's ripped Camp Half Blood T-shirt and held it to the hellhound's nose. He sniffed it and I put the reins on the monster. Then me and Jason got onto the hellhound. Percy decided to ride Blackjack alongside us. The hellhound took off, traveling southeast. We had no idea where we were going or how long this whole journey would take, but we knew that the hellhound would lead us to Pollux's location. Percy put on his wristband and Blackjack looked rather scared as he rode alongside the hellhound.
I guess now would be a good time to explain why Hera and I aren't enemies anymore. Well, it all started back nearly four years ago. It had been nearly a year since the Giants defeat and I was 18 years old. I was visiting Mount Olympus to speak to my mother for advice. I arrived there very early, and Hera was in the throne room all by herself. She wore a white tunic dress and her black hair was loose. Her eyes were blue and she was very angry.
"Ugh... That unfaithful Zeus... What ever happened to me? To us?! He never even speaks to me anymore! That concubine is not worthy of him, no one is! How fortunate that she died in that car accident. They'll never know it was me. If I could do so, I would destroy every bastard child of Zeus!"
I gasped loudly. At first I thought Hera heard me, but she dismissed it. I felt so infuriated. She wasn't just talking about Zeus's demigod children throughout the ages, but all the gods and goddesses he had fathered, including my mother. I left Mount Olympus, taking the Empire State Building Elevator back down. I pushed the button and waited for the door to open.
"That Hera! She's so despicable! She never gets punished for any of her crimes! She doesn't deserve to be queen!" I exclaimed.
The elevator door opened and I went back down. I thought that I was alone that day, but I was wrong. Hermes had heard and recorded my entire conversation about how horrible Hera was and spread this news all over Olympus. Two days later, Hera came down to Camp Half Blood. She appeared in front of the campfire in the middle of the afternoon. They all bowed to her in respect.
"Where is the one named Annabeth Chase?" she asked.
"I'm right here." I answered, walking forth to her. "What do you want from me?"
"You have no respect for me, do you, Wise Girl?" Hera asked. "I can't believe you said all those things about me! Spreading false rumors and lies!"
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I'm talking about this." she answered.
She snapped her fingers and a pink screen appeared. On the pink screen, I was over by the elevator waiting for the door.
"That Hera! She's so despicable! She never gets punished for any of her crimes! She doesn't deserve to be queen!" I exclaimed.
The campers gasped. How did Hera find that tape?
"You'll pay for that Annabeth Chase. You just made a grave mistake." Hera warned.
"You're the one who have a grave mistake," I retorted. "You killed one of Zeus's lovers, and you said that if you could, you would kill every bastard child of Zeus! You're a monster, and you never pay for your crimes! I challenge you to a duel!"
Everyone gasped. "When and where?" she asked.
"The former Titan Base camp that was used by our foes in the Battle of Manhattan. Meet me there at sunset tomorrow." I said.
"You're on." she said.
The following day, Percy and Grover were with me as the former drove the car to the titan base.
"You don't have to do this." Grover said.
"You're going to be killed." Percy said. "Hera is ruthless."
"I know. I don't care. Someone needs to slap some sense into that lady!" I exclaimed. "Stop here. This is close enough."
Carrying the two standard weapons I had with me (my sword and my dagger), plus an electric spear I borrowed from Clarisse, I got out of the car and walked forward. I knew I was doing something stupid, but at the time, I didn't really even care. After ambling around the former Titan base, I found Hera sitting down a throne she made for herself out of peacock feathers. She stood up and her makeshift throne disappeared.
"So you finally decided to show up." she said.
"Why wouldn't I grace you with my presence?" I asked.
"You're a fool Annabeth. You are not worthy to even be in my presence." Hera stated.
"Enough talk, let's end this!" I exclaimed.
The battle was very long. According to Percy, who timed the match, the match lasted one hour, 59 minutes and 45 seconds. We battled each other for nearly two hours. Clarisse's electric spear had been broken during the duel, but she expected that to happen. My sword and dagger were still in tip-top shape. Hera had been wounded so many times over.
"So when will you admit that I'm right?" I asked.
"Never!" Hera answered. "I'm the Queen of Olympus. I never did anything wrong! Hercules deserved his punishment."
"You brought it upon him! You're the reason why monsters can find demigods! You care nothing for demigods and you're just a cruel heartless monster!" I exclaimed, striking her stomach. That was the one area that hadn't bleed yet.
"You are far more persistent than I thought." Hera said, dropping to her knees. "I killed so many people and caused so much trouble because of my jealously."
"You have the right to be jealous, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to unleash your wrath on innocent people." I said, helping her up.
"I can't believe that I've been blind to the suffering I've caused for so many millennia..." she said.
I dropped to my knees. I was exhausted. Needless to say, Hera learned a lesson she won't forget.
"Annabeth... Annabeth." a voice said. It was Jason.
I realized we were about to crash, so I pulled the reins, stopping the hellhound. We were in front of a big building. It was 7:45 pm, and we had been traveling east for several hours.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"We're in Phoenix." Percy answered.
I looked closer at the building in front of us. "That is the Westin Phoenix Downtown hotel. That must be where Pollux is."
"What do we do with the hellhound now?" Percy asked.
I got out my dagger and stabbed the monster, turning it to dust and we got off.
"Now we have to find where Pollux is." I answered.
"He's probably staying in a hotel room." Percy said.
I looked at the hotel and thought to myself for a brief moment. "Something tells me this may not be the case." I said.