Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 16: The Cure

Forge of Oranos

Annabeth's POV

The ice drakon roared in front of my team, Thalia was frozen in place, eventually she snapped out of it and ran over to the others. The ice drakon was roughly thirty feet tall from its feet to the top of its head. It had four legs and each leg ended into a large foot roughly the size of a mature oak tree's trunk. Each had two foot long claws on the end of each of it's three toes. The creature was silvery white in color with scales that were the size of dinner plates. The creatures head was at least six feet long and it's eyes glowed like the northern lights.

I was still trapped on top of this control platform. The metal works were destroyed and I could tell that the explosion had forced cracks deep within the mountain. The heat from the forge was wafting up through the mountain and somehow I knew the icy slopes of the mountain would start to melt. We only had a matter of minutes to defeat the drakon and find the antidote. I still had my invisibility cap on so I slid down the ladder as fast as I could and then ran over to my team avoiding blasts of ice that the drakon was indiscriminately blasting around the cave. I reached my team and pulled them together.

"Elpis and Amyntas, both of you stay here we will need you to lead us out of here once we're finished. Thalia and Clarisse, I need both of you to keep the drakon busy and no heroics." I said as I looked directly at Clarisse with that last part of my statement. Clarisse was about to object, but I gave her my patented glare and she backed down, at least for now. "Clarisse take this." I handed her my shield, she accepted it gratefully and ran after Thalia. I heard the drakon roar as Thalia and Clarisse distracted it. "Malcolm, gather the Greek fire, we need to start attacking it." Malcolm nodded in agreement. He opened his pack and we evenly distributed the Greek fire. I put my invisibility cap back on and Malcolm found a secure location to throw fire at the drakon. I ran directly behind the drakon avoiding its thrashing tail. Malcolm and I started attacking the beast with the Greek fire, it screamed in pain as the fire hit its scales. It tried to turn around to attack us, but Clarisse and Thalia would attack it with electric charged spears as soon as it turned toward us. The creature would turn around and face them again. We kept up this back and forth battle for at least thirty minutes before I saw the glow in the drakons eyes start to waiver. I knew it was only a matter of time before the creature took on its crystalized ice form. Suddenly a bright light shined throughout the cave it was almost blinding. When the light dissipated the drakon was now completely made of ice in a crystal form. The Greek fire and the electric spears had no effect on it now. I took out the whistle given to me by Daedalus and I stood on top of a rock and took off my cap. The drakon approached me and before it could fire a blast of ice I took the whistle in my hand placed it between my lips and blew it. The sound reverberated throughout the cave. It sounded and felt like the entire cave was shaking. The drakon began to move and then stopped abruptly as the first crack appears near its left leg. The crack ran up the leg and then moved diagonally across the monster's chest then more cracks appeared on the other legs and then a large crack spread across the monsters head. Everything seemed like it was moving painstakingly slow, but suddenly the drakon erupted and exploded into a million pieces of crystallized ice. I closed my eyes and something hard hit me in the abdomen knocking the wind out of me. I fell to my knees and opened my eyes. I looked around and found a canteen made of celestial bronze, there was writing on it in a strange language. Could this be the cure, it was inside the drakon, incredible? I ran over and joined my team who were gathered around Elpis and Amyntas. Thalia and Clarisse both looked incredibly tire, but they were in one piece. Malcolm was smiling broadly and I laughed to myself when I saw him.

"Elpis, what is this?" I asked as I handed her the canteen. Elpis looked at it and her eyes grew wide with recognition.

"It's the cure for the curse of Oranos." Elpis said. This was the cure.

"This is the cure for radiation from the metal?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes, it is." Elpis said. I smiled broadly and the rest of my team joined me. Then the water started to pour from the ceiling.

"We have to get out of here the ice from the mountain is melting into the forge, we'll be underwater soon. I noticed that in the commotion of battle that the main entrance of the cave had collapsed sealing us in.

"Amyntas and Elpis, lead us out of here." I yelled over the roar of the water rushing into the cave. Amyntas and Elpis ran toward the water fall, we followed quickly behind them. We all ran behind the falling water Amyntas opened the cave entrance again and we all rushed down the passageway. After thirty minutes of running we reached the end of the passageway. Elpis opened the exit and we ran out into the bright sunshine. Elpis repeated her chant and the entrance closed. It took us all a few minutes to adjust our eyes to the bright sunlight.

"Thank you for helping us free the forge from the evil one." Amyntas said.

"I'm sorry that the forge was destroyed." I said sympathetically.

"No need to be sorry daughter of Athena, the forge will reform when it moves again to a new location when Olympus finally shifts. By that time we will have found more of our people so we can take our rightful place as it's guardian. Go now and stop the evil ones plan, we and our people shall always be in your debt." Elpis said as Amyntas raised his hand in salute. They both disappeared into the white of the snow.

"That was pretty cool." Malcolm said.

"We need to get the cure back to camp quickly, I don't think we can wait for another plane trip." Thalia said anxiously.

I looked at her and smiled, then I took a small amount of left over Greek fire and ignited a pile of snow. A mist formed in the air and I threw in a drachma. "Goddess Iris hear my prayer show me the goddess Athena." I said. The image cleared and I saw Athena and Theseus sitting in the garden outside of the throne room on Olympus. "Mom, we did it." Athena turned around and smiled brightly when she saw us.

"You found the cure?" She asked.

"Yes, the forge is destroyed and we have the cure." I said as I lifted the celestial bronze canteen for her to see.

"Your quest is over then, meaning we can help." Theseus said as he joined her in the image and smiled. "We'll be there soon." He ran his hand through the image. A few minutes later a bright golden glow appeared in front of us, when the glow faded Athena and Theseus were standing in front of us. Malcolm and I ran to our mom and hugged her. Theseus walked over and hugged Thalia and Clarisse.

"You all did an incredible job, we need to get back to camp." Theseus said.

"Yes, you all did very well." Athena added. Athena held onto Malcolm and I, Theseus held onto Clarisse and Thalia. We all disappeared into a golden light and the next thing I knew we were outside the infirmary in camp. We all ran into the infirmary and waiting for us inside was Apollo. I gave the canteen to Apollo and he walked into the other room. He signaled for all of us to follow him. We followed him until we were standing inside Percy's room, he was still in his tank but the wound on his chest was not twice as big. Apollo motioned for us to get behind a large safety glass wall. He poured half the contents of the canteen into an automatic pump injector. We all stood behind the glass.

"What's the glass for?" I asked.

"A precaution, we do not know how Percy will react to the cure and we do not know how his healing powers will react. They are currently set on overdrive. The water will most likely explode out of the tank." Apollo said. I nodded my head in understanding. Apollo pressed the remote control for the injector pump. I saw the cure enter the water of Percy's tank. After a minute nothing happened, I was about to say something when the area of the wound in Percy's chest began to glow with a beautiful orange, blue and gold light, it was like a rainbow. The glow flooded over Percy's body and I could tell it was purging the radiation from him. The glow faded and then I saw the wound start to heal before my eyes. We could see muscle and bone regenerate and the blood start to pump through his new veins. The water in the tank began to glow an intense blue-green color and suddenly the tank exploded sending glass and water everywhere. We were protected behind the safety glass. After everything calmed down we looked back toward Percy, he was on his knees and I could tell he was still in the coma. I had no idea how he could be in a coma and still be able to kneel on the ground. I could tell by the surprised look on Apollo's face that he didn't understand it either. I walked over to Percy and knelt in front of him, I didn't care if anyone was watching, which they were, but I had to try even if it was too fairy tale for words. I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. I heard coughing behind me and I turned to see Thalia trying to hold in her laughter.

"Do you have a problem pine cone face." I yelled. Thalia glared at me and smiled.

"You really thought you were waking sleeping beauty?" Thalia asked incredulously.

"Shut up Thals." I said. I turned back to Percy and he was still in the coma, then I had an idea.

"Perseus Theseus Jackson get back here this instant." I said doing my best Sally Jackson impersonation. I could tell that my mom and Theseus never knew that Percy's middle name was Theseus. I had learned that recently from Sally. Sally got to give him is first name, whereas Poseidon had chosen his middle name. The door to the room blew open breaking me away from my thoughts suddenly a mist hovered over Percy and then descended upon him. The mist was absorbed into his body and Percy gasped as he awoke, his eyes wild with surprise. I smiled brightly as he looked into my eyes, he smiled in return, then he grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

"You did it wise girl, I said you would." Percy whispered in my ear sending a shiver down my spine. Apollo brought over a robe and Percy put it on as he looked very cold. Apollo and I helped him stand up and then the others rushed over to us.Theseus almost knocked Percy over, my mom smiled next to me as she looked at her husband hug his brother. They broke apart a moment later when Athena placed a hand on Theseus's shoulder.

"You know there are other people who would like to greet your brother." Athena said. It's not everyday that you see the god of heroes blush, but today was one of those days. Athena was the next to hug Percy and I saw a tear roll down her cheek. Thalia hugged him next.

"Good to have you back kelp head." Thalia whispered. I saw Percy smile.

"Good to be back pine cone face." Percy whispered in return and when they broke apart I thought I saw a tear on Thalia's face. She caught me looking at her.

"Something in my eye." Thalia defended.

Malcolm and Clarisse welcomed him back, Percy was even happy to see Clarisse even though she threatened him immediately. Theseus and I helped Percy to a medical bed in the infirmary so he could get some rest. Once Percy was settled everyone left the room except Theseus, Athena and I.

"Percy you were astral projecting weren't you." I said matter-of-factly. I saw a look of surprise on Theseus and Athena's faces.

Percy smiled at me and said, "I can't keep anything from you, yes I was trying to help Nico and the others. I warned them about the defenses on the research ship and the fact that Atlas had changed the magic in the pearl to now negate the powers of all divine beings. With the help of the crystals that power is projected to his entire fleet."

I looked at Percy and I knew he hadn't told everything yet. "What are you leaving out?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm not sure, when I left from informing Nico and the others I did another pass of the fleet and I noticed the submarines were no longer on the surface." Percy said. I could tell by the looks on Athena and Theseus's faces that they had a bad feeling as well.

"What else did you tell Nico?" I asked.

"Yes, sorry for not finishing still a little tired. Atlas was using Chris and another student to retrieve the bombs, by now they have probably recovered all three of them, damn that's it the subs are on their way to attack." Percy said ominously.

"We have to inform our fathers now." Theseus said as he immediately dissolved into a golden light to inform Poseidon and Zeus.

"You've helped tremendously even in a coma, we're all proud of you." Athena said. I held Percy's hand tightly.

"It might not be enough if Atlas destroys his targets." Percy said.

"Once the missiles and torpedo leave the protection of the ship we will be able to destroy them." Athena said.

"Your not getting it Athena, Atlas has placed crystals on the bombs as well. We have to destroy the pearl or all is lost." Percy warned. I saw a look of complete surprise on my mother's face as well as another emotion, desperation. She immediately disappeared into a golden light. "Annabeth help me to the ocean please?" I was about to protest when I saw the look of determination on Percy's face, I knew that look and there was no way I was going to stop him. I helped Percy get dressed, he smiled at me when he saw me blush as I looked at his near naked body, he was beautiful, well in a manly sorta way. I handed him Riptide and his wrist band as I carefully helped him to the ocean. We passed Mr. D and Chiron, they followed us to the beach. I left Percy at the edge of the water and when his feet touched the sea water his body began to glow with that familiar blue-green color. Percy walked into the waves and was gone for at least thirty minutes before he reappeared. As he left the safety of the sea he looked completely refreshed and healed. He smiled that crooked smile that I loved. He walked over to Mr. D and said, "Take me as close to the research ship as possible."

"Take me too." I yelled. Percy gave me a stern look and shook his head.

"You can't go with me this time wise girl, I need you to wait until your mother returns and then have her bring you and Thalia. By then hopefully the pearl will be no more." Percy said. I was about to yell at him when he walked over and kissed me passionately. When we broke apart he walked over to Mr. D and disappeared into a purple mist. Damn him and his bravery was all I could think at the moment.

Onboard the TS Empire State VI - Ship's Bridge

Scott's POV

"You were expecting me?" Nico asked surprised. The kid is still a little green of course Atlas was expecting him.

"I also expected a certain daughter of Zeus and an upset daughter of Athena." Atlas stated enthusiastically. "I guess I will have to settle for the two of you." Atlas aimed the gun at Nico and I pushed the kid out of the way just in time for three bullets to strike me in the chest. They hurt for once, they stung like a bee sting. I saw the surprised look on Atlas's face when he didn't see a large set of holes in my chest.

"Who are you?" Atlas asked with fear in his voice.

"I'm Scott Erickson son of Thetis, brother of Achilles, Captain in the United States Navy Seals and the guy who's getting ready to crap all over your plans." I said venomously as I leveled my rifle at him, it was fully loaded with a one hundred round clip of celestial bronze ammo. I saw Atlas look out the window toward his ship and suddenly someone burst through the door of the bridge and the sight of him froze all of us. Standing in the doorway of the bridge holding a large celestial bronze sword was none other than Percy Jackson.

"You're dead, I saw you get shot." Atlas said, but before he could say anymore Percy's sword flew through the air and cut across Atlas's left hand. He dropped the large crystal and it rolled several feet away from him. Atlas tried to walk toward it, but I peppered the floor with bullets. He looked out the window again and touched a gem on his wrist band and dissolved into a brilliant light. When the light dissipated he was gone.

"Where did he go?" I asked. Percy walked over toward me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"He's back on his ship. You and your men did an incredible job Captain." Percy said as he walked over to the crystal and then grabbed his sword. He picked up the crystal and then for the first time I noticed the large pearl sitting in the middle of it. Percy tossed the crystal and the pearl into the air and at the same time he swung his sword when the two collided a brilliant light and a burst of power exploded from it. Then I felt my abilities return and I could tell that Nico and Percy did as well.

Percy looked over at Nico and I, and said, "Go free the prisoners including your son. I'm needed on the deck. Don't worry the monsters and pirates are dead, at least on this ship." He didn't have to tell me twice I grabbed Nico's arm, we ran out of the bridge and headed for the lower decks. I wondered what he meant when he said that he was needed on the deck.

AN: Hope you liked this chapter. It looks like everything is starting to come together and Percy is back in the game.