Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 11: The Invincible Five
Camp Half Blood
Annabeth's POV
Thalia and I ran in through the door of the big house and then into the kitchen. As usual Chiron and Mr. D were eating breakfast and playing a game, this time scrabble.
"Chiron that's not a word." Mr. D stated. Chiron just smiled at his old friend.
"Do you want me to look it up?" Chiron asked confidently.
Mr. D saw us and his expression brightened. "Annabeth, Thalia can we help you?" Mr. D said eagerly. I could tell he was happy to get away from the game.
"Yes, Thalia and I both had the same dream and we think somehow Percy sent it to us." I said excitedly.
"Tell us about the dream." Chiron said. Thalia and I told them about the dream and what happened when we went to see Percy.
"Well, demigod dreams as you know always have meaning, but I never heard of a demigod that was able to send his dream to others and in fact he was able to alter it as well." Chiron said.
"I agree, but Percy is far from a normal demigod, he's far from a normal child of the big three for that matter." Mr. D said.
"Do you think the coma has anything to do with this?" I asked curiously.
"I'm not sure, it is a magically induced coma that Apollo put Percy in to protect him from the pain." Chiron said.
"Well, I think it could, Apollo is the god of prophecy as well as the sun. His magic may have some unintended side effects and considering the mental powers Percy has already it could enhance those abilities." Mr. D said. That seemed to make sense I didn't know Percy was in a magically induced coma. At that moment Nico ran into the kitchen. Thalia grabbed him in a big hug. Chiron cleared his throat and they both separated blushing madly.
"Nico, I thought you were on a mission for your father?" Chiron asked.
The red color faded and Nico's usual pale complexion returned. "I had a strange dream last night, so I came back early."
"What kind of dream?" I asked. Nico told us about his dream.
"Nico, Annabeth and I had the same dream." Thalia said. Nico was stunned, I could tell by the look on his face.
"It makes more sense now." I said. Everyone looked at me. "You see Percy has been teaching the three of us the concentration techniques that he learned from Theseus. Maybe the training opened our minds so it was easier for Percy to communicate with us." Chiron and Mr. D were clearly thinking this assertion over in their minds.
"I agree, this training could explain the strength of the dreams and the fact that all three of you had the same dream seems to confirm the hypothesis. Now if you don't mind all this thinking is giving me a headache. Chiron, I will be out checking on my grape vines. Good luck to all of you." Mr. D walked out the back door of the big house.
"Where is Percy?" Nico asked worriedly.
"Thalia go show him I'll meet you at the mess hall in a few minutes." I said. Thalia nodded as she grabbed Nico's arm and pulled him out of the big house.
"Are you ready to go my dear?" Chiron said in his fatherly tone that he reserved for me only.
"I am, the others will be waiting in the mess hall." I said confidently.
"The ice drakon that Percy showed you is the strongest of all the drakons, be careful it's susceptible to fire and acid. Some have speculated that it could be susceptible to massive amounts of salt and sound waves when the creature is in it's ice form. You also know that Nico cannot go with you, please send him to speak with me." Chiron stated.
"Thank you sir, we will be careful and this information should be helpful. I'll send him before we leave." I said. I hugged him goodbye and ran out the door towards the mess hall. I made it to the mess hall, I knew it would be tough to tell Nico that he couldn't go, but I sensed that Chiron had plans for him. As I entered the mess hall I saw everyone of my team at the Athena table eating. I grabbed some food and made an offering to my mom and to Theseus. I prayed that our quest would be a success. I sat down next to Thalia, she was intently talking to Nico. I could tell that she missed him very much.
"Nico, I need to talk to you." I said. Nico and Thalia stopped talking and looked at me. "I guess Thalia showed you Percy and you know that we're going on quest to save him." Nico smiled and placed an arm around Thalia.
"Sure, I want to go with you." Nico said. I saw the sad look on Thalia's face she knew that he couldn't go.
"You can't go, only four of us are allowed to go and the quest has been set. We cannot change the team now. Besides, Chiron needs to speak with you, I think he will ask you to help out on a special mission." I said. I could tell that Nico was upset.
"Annabeth, I have to go, you'll need me." Nico pleaded.
"Nico, you know when a quest is set that we cannot add anyone else." I said. I saw the anger fade from his face, it was replaced by a look of worry. I saw him squeeze Thalia's hand tightly.
Annabeth, I'll meet all of you by my tree, I need to talk with Nico." Thalia said as she stood up.
"Sure, we'll be up there in thirty." I said as Thalia walked out with Nico behind her. I certainly knew how he felt, but the quest was set and besides I had the feeling he would be needed elsewhere.
The rest of us finished eating breakfast and left the mess hall. We made our way to Thalia's tree. The three of us sat under the tree and a few minutes later Thalia joined us. I could tell by her red and puffy eyes that she had been crying. I put my arm around her. "He'll be o.k. Thals." I said.
Thalia stared at me and nodded her head. "I know he will, I just missed him and I know he'll worry the entire time I'm gone." I smiled at her with a mischievous grin.
"What's so funny brain?" Thalia said with a smirk on her face.
"I'm glad that you found someone that you love and that makes you happy. I just find it weird that he's a son of Hades." I said. Thalia glared at me and then elbowed me in the ribs.
"Funnier than a daughter of Athena in love with a son of Poseidon." Thalia added.
"Well, at first it was until Theseus returned. Now I can hardly remember a time when Poseidon and Athena were rivals." I said. Thalia laughed and nodded.
"That's true even my dad seems to get along with his brothers now. Theseus has really changed everyones lives." Thalia said.
"For the better, that's for sure." I said. Thalia smiled and nodded in agreement. We both looked down to the barrier and we saw five figures walk through it. They were full grown men dressed in all black uniforms with the United States flag on their shoulders. They had large black duffel bags slung over their shoulders. I recognized the man in the middle as Captain Scott Erickson, Chris's dad. The man to his left was as tall as Percy, but he was built like a linebacker with brown hair and brown eyes he had to be Allen Steel son of Hephaestus, the next man looked like an older version of Will Solace that had to be Will's older brother Ben, the fourth man had dark black hair and deep brown eyes that flashed red when the sun shined in his face. He was over six feet in height and was athletically built. I knew he had to be Alex Scabbard son of Ares. The fifth man had blond hair and blue eyes and looked a lot like Luke, except he was a few inches taller and he was athletic like a long distance runner, that had to be Gareth Courier son of Hermes. The five of them walked up the hill and stopped in front of us. They looked down the hill toward camp and I could tell that they had never seen the new camp design.
"Captain Erickson." I said looking directly at Chris's dad.
"That's me, and you are?" Scott asked.
"I'm Annabeth Chase daughter of Athena, this is Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus, my brother Malcolm and that is Clarisse LaRue daughter of Ares." I said pointing to each teammate as I said their name.
"A pleasure to meet you." Scott said.
"Hi, little sis." Alex said as he looked at Clarisse. She glared at him when he called her little sis.
"We're here to see Chiron, can you direct us?" Scott asked calmly. I pointed down the hill and over toward the big house. Scott smiled at me, Chris had the same blue eyes and smile.
"Can I talk to you sir?" I asked. Chris nodded and motioned for the rest of his team to walk toward the big house, they did so without question.
"Yes, Miss Chase." Scott said.
"Sir, I know you're son." I said. Scott looked taken aback by this comment.
"How do you know my son?" Scott asked curiously.
"He's my boyfriend's roommate." I said. Scott just looked at me completely dumbfounded for a moment.
"Whose your boyfriend?" Scott asked.
"Percy Jackson." I said. I could tell that he knew that name.
"You mean to tell me that my son has been the roommate with the son of Poseidon for the past year and this is the first I've heard of it?" Scott asked incredulously.
"Yes, sir, your son and Percy can both keep a secret very well." I said.
Scott just smiled and shook his head. "Well, you're right my son is good at keeping secrets. So I take it that Percy is trapped on the ship with my son?" Scott said.
"No, I'm afraid that Percy is in the camp infirmary." I said sadly.
Scott looked sad for a moment. "How did he get there?" Scott asked.
"Percy was shot and thrown into the sea. Lord Poseidon rescued him and brought him here." I said. Scott nodded his head.
"Thank you for telling me this. Chris had only told me that he was good friends with his roommate." Scott said.
"Your welcome sir." I said. Chris nodded and walked down the hill toward the big house. I heard a horn sound on the other side of the barrier. "Let's go." The four of us walked down the hill through the barrier to the van. Argus would take us to the airport. I glanced back at camp for the last time and thought of Percy. Suddenly I heard a voice, Good luck wise girl, the voice said. Percy just talked to me again, maybe he'll be there to help me on the quest, I hoped.
Scott's POV
The girl Annabeth reminded me of her, except for the blond hair. I shook that thought from my mind and joined my team in the big house. Camp has sure changed, so many more cabins, but still no cabin to my mother. I guess some things never change. I walked with my team through the big house and entered the kitchen. Chiron was in there reading a book.
"Chiron, it is good to see you." I said. Chiron looked up from his book and smiled at all of us.
"The five of you look great, I guess navy life suits you." Chiron said. Suddenly a bright light appeared in the room and two gods stood before us. One I recognized instantly as Athena, but I had no idea who the other one was.
"Lady Athena." I said as my men and I bowed before her.
"Please stand up, I suppose that the five of you have been away long enough to not recognize my husband. Theseus god of heroes." Athena said.
I froze and I looked at my men, they were stunned as well. "The Theseus!" I said. Theseus smiled at me and then walked over and shook my hand. He then shook the hands of each member of my team.
"It is good to meet you all. I wish I could say that Chiron has told me all about you, but that would be lie." Theseus said as he glared at Chiron. Chiron raised his hands in defeat.
"We have much to talk about." Chiron said trying to change the subject. Chiron explained the situation to all of us. Theseus and Athena would add extra information to fill in any gaps.
"So Lord Poseidon is unable to assist us?" I asked for clarification.
"Yes, the pearl and the crystals that amplify its power will keep him or anyone associated with him from using their abilities." Athena said.
"What about the other gods such as yourselves?" Alex asked.
"My father is unable to give us permission to interfere as the pearl keeps him from even doing that. Without such permission no god would dare enter Poseidon's domain." Theseus said.
"What concerns me is this new weapon. Considering the damage it did to Percy, how can we protect your team?" Athena asked.
"You haven't told them Chiron?" I said. Chiron shook his head. I could see the curious looks from Theseus and Athena. "The five of us have bathed in the River Styx, we are invulnerable.
"I'm sorry, but it is a secret that I wanted Scott to divulge." Chiron said.
"So the five of you are invulnerable?" Theseus asked.
"Yes, sir except for our weak spot, but we have kept those a complete secret." I said. A dark haired kid ran into the kitchen, he looked about a year younger than my son.
"Chiron." Nico yelled. Chiron motioned for him to enter, then he introduced himself to us as the son of Hades, Nico Di Angelo. "You wanted to see me sir."
"Yes, Nico you will be helping Captain Erickson and his team on their mission." Chiron said. This kid is coming with us.
"Chiron, this will most likely end up being a fire fight, we can't bring this kid with us." I protested.
"I'm sorry Scott, but Nico will be your transportation on this mission, besides he's a son of Hades his powers will come in handy." Chiron said.
"Your in charge sir, but the kid will follow my orders to the letter." I said.
"Yes, sir." Nico said. I hope the kid doesn't screw up or this could be our shortest mission on record.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let's hope Nico doesn't screw things up. Five experienced half blood navy seals all with the curse of Achilles, interesting. I guess Atlas is in for a few surprises.