Hi! So sorry for the delay, the cooode is doom. anyway, enjoy and leave a review if you feel like it!
Annabeth was woken by Percy the next morning. She didn't want to get up; the morning air was cold and there was a sharp wind whistling outside, as if the world was expecting the storm that was about to brewed.
"Come on Wise Girl, time to save the world" He told her, and she huffed, opening one eye to glare at him.
"You're not a morning person really, are you?" He asked, smiling a little, and she shook her head. She was always cranky when she first woke up.
"Five more minutes" She grumbled, but Percy pulled her into a sitting position,
"Oh no Annabeth, we need to get moving; final battle today. When we win, then you can take a nap. Or several" He said. That sounded like a good offer, and eventually Annabeth's eyes didn't feel like lead so she heaved herself up, pulling on her hero suit and bringing out her feathers. Percy did the same, though not before Annabeth took a good look at him without it- she was pretty pleased, and quite irritated that his suit covered all of him.
"Morning lovebirds!" Piper called from the fountain when Annabeth and Percy left the room- she was putting on her paint, white and red, with a steady hand and no mirror. Annabeth was impressed, though Red had been putting on her war paint for years; she had to be an expert at it by now.
"Sup little Red? Where are the others?" Percy asked, mask still hanging off his suit, grinning down at her.
"Waiting inside; Leo announced that you were all beaten up, and called to say that Luke and Thalia are taking their army toward Orthyrs, I'll be going ahead to turn them around"
"You'll need backup; take Tyson with you in case things go sour, okay?" Annabeth said, and Piper nodded, putting down her paintbrush and ran inside. She returned with the Cyclops and ran to edge of the courtyard, which had no railing and led to a high drop from a cliff. Piper vanished over the edge, and Annabeth turned to Percy.
"You grab Jason and Leo" She commanded "Get the storm brewing"
Percy nodded and ran down the stairs, and within seconds he emerged with Jason and Leo, the curly haired boy looking cranky and trying not to drop the stack of toast in his hands. Jason grabbed him and then they too vanished over the edge of the cliff, flying toward the city like a flock of mismatched birds. Annabeth watched them with her expert vision until they were nothing more than a speck in the distance and she headed down to the rest of the team. Centurion, Shifter, Oracle and Calypso were sitting on the couches, waiting for Annabeth.
"Night Owl, is it time?" Oracle asked, red hair tucked into a hat and green eyes staring a hole into the side of her head. Rachel always had very intense eyes, which was only heightened by an impending vision. Annabeth nodded.
"Take a look, what do we have to do?" She asked. Rachel crossed her legs and placed her palms flat on her knees, eyes glazing over and becoming milky. Annabeth was always intrigued by Rachel's powers; sometimes the visions forced themselves upon her, other times she looked into the future by herself. She muttered sometimes, about someone named Delphi, the spirit, and Annabeth had a feeling that sometimes it wasn't just the Oracle that she was talking to. Everyone was silent whilst Rachel saw the future, Calypso looking shocked, the others used to it.
"The surprise attack will work, but there's something- a hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. The blade is from the museum" Rachel breathed, her hands twitching on her knees.
"Which one? The museum is full of blades" Annabeth pointed out
"Which one indeed? There are three blades on the battlefield that have curses on them; Hercules's curse, Kronos' curse, Athena's curse. There's also…the huntress will fall"
"Thalia" Annabeth said, shaking her head "No, it can't be Thalia"
"The Huntress shall fall. I see flashes, lines of a prophecy, it is coming together- Delphi is giving me the fragments- I just- I just need- oh" Rachel said, and then her eyes became completely white. This was a very rare occurrence, when she sprouted prophecies. Annabeth had only seen this one other time, and that wasn't all that fun either. Rachel began to shake, smoke pouring from her mouth, and it was another voice that spoke; an old, powerful voice that made Annabeth feel cold.
A storm across the city spreads,
The earth collapses where heroes tread,
Enemies stir from a long, deep sleep,
A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,
The Angel thief will answer the call,
And to the stars, the Huntress shall fall"
Rachel returned to her normal self,and Shifter caught her before she could fall forwards onto the hard floor. Annabeth was shaken; Huntress will fall? Angel thieves? Earth collapsing? None of the lines of the prophecy sounded reassuring.
"Did anyone understand any of that?" Calypso asked shakily. Nico was staring at Rachel with a strange expression; he was thinking about something, maybe he knew something, but Annabeth knew he would never tell them what it was. He was even more secretive than she was.
"I didn't, but then prophecies only make sense after its happened" Centurion shrugged, and she too looked unsure.
"Well it didn't fill me with confidence; lets go and find out what it all meant" Nico said, getting up and heading for a dark corner in the room. Calypso looked confused, about to point him in the direction of the door, until he stepped into the shadows and vanished.
"Yeah, he doesn't do walking. We better go too. Calypso, I think there's a Pegasus in the stables outside; quicker than running, plus you can help from the skies in battle" Centurion said, and Calypso nodded. It was time to get moving, even though the prophecy was already heavy on Annabeth's shoulders. After trying not to fight Thalia, trying to get her back on their side, she was going to fall anyway. A small heaviness settled on Annabeth's shoulders, and she remembered that it was the same feeling she got after watching her mother fall.
The chosen battlefield didn't look out of the ordinary; typical empty land yet to be built on, probably a future home to big sky scrapers or something of the like. Annabeth scanned the area, eyeing the rapidly greying sky and trying to push down the unease in her stomach. The lines of the prophecy were stuck in her head, her analytical brain trying desperately to figure them out in a way that meant positive outcomes from the battle. Something that would keep Thalia safe and alive. Nico was now wearing armour, which looked a little small on him and carrying a blade that Annabeth had never seen before. Percy, Jason and Leo were up in the air somewhere; Annabeth caught occasional sightings of them as they worked on a storm. Hazel was kneeling down, palms flat against the earth, muttering and occasionally nodding to herself as she felt for ways to collapse the ground. She was nervous, watching her friends work, and felt totally useless- without any special powers of her own, she couldn't prepare for the battle they way they were. All she could do was thing- and Gods she was wishing she could stop for a moment.
"They're coming!" Someone bellowed. Annabeth froze and listened to the steady thud-thud of numerous footsteps. She turned, eventually, and saw Piper first; calling to the army of monsters that trailed behind her in a daze, leading them toward their chosen battleground. Luke and Thalia led the hundreds of monsters, and Annabeth was disappointed to see a few flashes of silver in the mix; hunters that had re-joined their old leiutenant.
"It doesn't have to be this way, Night Owl! You can help us! You don't have to die!" Luke called, sauntering along as if he'd already won; though, since only Annabeth and Piper were currently in sight, it probably looked that way to him.
"No one is dying today" Annabeth called back, a silent promise in her words as she watched Thalia.
"Oh, but they are. See, we've figured out how to wake Kronos. Something we found out from Mrs Jackson; we need your blood, Annabeth" Luke drawled. Hazel had appeared from her assessment of the ground, and Frank had snuck into Luke's forces, resembling a hellhound. Nico had also materialised, something of a growl rumbling in his throat as he looked at their opponents.
"And you think I'll give myself to you? I'd rather die" She spat. He smirked.
"And you will- if you resist. Only a drop will do" He told her. Thalia looked at Annabeth desperately.
"Night Owl- please just-"
The sky over head rumbled with thunder, the wind picking up and rain beginning to lash down on the ground, quickly turning it muddy and soft. Luke squinted upward but couldn't see the three demigods in the storm; though with her excellent vision Annabeth could make out Percy, and then Jason, who was carrying Leo bridal style through the crowds. No doubt Leo was yelling.
"You made your choice, then" Luke said. Annabeth fixed him with the coldest glare she possessed.
"There was no choice to make; you were against me the moment you and Huntress got involved with Kronos. You won't listen to reason...so we're going to stop you. Shifter, now!"
Several monsters fell with guttural cries and pandemonium broke out, monsters rearing away from the strange happenings. A well-aimed bolt of lightning struck the scattering horde, and small fireballs began falling from the sky. Annabeth and Nico shot forward, blades raised and plunged into the fray, Annabeth ducking under claws and tails with agility that only came with being in battle. Nico was vanishing and re-appearing left-right and centre, like he was made of smoke. From above, a silvery pegasi swooped in and Calypso shot arrows from his back, looking like she was having the time of her life.
"Tyson makes things go BOOM!" A very familiar voice called, and Tyson flattened several monsters with one terrifyingly impressive hulk smash- Annabeth gave him a wide berth for her own personal safety.