Well, guys. The end is here.
Sigh...
I'm not too sad, though. I've completely solidified the plot for the sequel, maybe release the title to you, and will be able to get started on it quickly. I might have the first chapter or prologue up by next week or sooner!
I will be sad that this story is over :( I've had SO much fun writing it, and bringing it to the end seemed like it would never happen, but here it is.
I'll just let you read now.
a;slkdghas;ldkf
Six Months Later
I brushed my hair back into a ponytail at the top of my head and pulled out my duffel bag. Grabbing the necessities from my drawers, I stuffed the bag with jeans, shirts, and underwear. Zipping it closed, I dropped it on my bed and picked up my backpack. I placed in an extra belt and sheath for my knife, a jacket, and the laptop that Daedalus had given to me. I was about to sling it on my shoulder when something caught the corner of my eye.
It was the picture of me and Percy that used to hang up in Chiron's office. He had given it to me a couple weeks ago. I picked up the frame, and sitting back on my haunches, gazed at the picture. I ran a finger down Percy's face and, blinking back tears, smiled.
"I'll see you soon, Percy."
Pain racked my chest. It'd been six months. Six months since I'd seen Percy in person. How I've made it this far, I had no idea. The time seemed endless, and now that the day to leave for Camp Jupiter had arrived, I felt almost in denial. It seemed almost too good to be true.
The door to the Athena cabin banged open and I jumped. Turning, I saw Malcolm standing in the doorframe.
"Annabeth, the ship is ready. They're waiting for you."
I gently placed the photo in my backpack underneath the jacket, and after checking to make sure I had my knife and my hat, swung it on my shoulder.
"I'm done."
Malcolm grabbed the duffel bag from my bed and helped me carry it outside. As I walked through the crowd of people who had gathered around the ship, several people jostled me and patted me on the back.
"Here we are, Annabeth."
"You'll be seeing Percy soon!"
"Be safe!"
Leo was standing on the deck, absentmindedly rubbing his hand on the head of Festus and snapping his fingers, making flames appear. Piper and Jason were also on the deck talking to each other. Gleeson Hedge was nowhere in sight. Probably down at the buffet table that Leo had set up, stuffing his face.
Chiron stood at the base of the plank to get on the ship. As I arrived, he smiled warmly.
"The time has come."
I nodded, feeling excited. In just a few hours, I would be with Percy again, and hopefully negotiating with the people from Camp Jupiter. I had already had a small speech memorized to say when we arrived.
I grinned back. "I'm ready."
He patted my back and gestured me up the plank. As I climbed the plank, Chiron started to speak.
"Demigods! The time has come for us to send our delegated campers to the Roman Camp Jupiter, where we can hopefully speak to them in peace and send the seven chosen demigods to Greece. May the gods send blessings to those from Camp Half-Blood."
The crowd cheered and several waved.
As I made it to the top of the deck, Leo and Jason ran forward and grabbed the top of the plank and heaved it up.
"Why didn't I build a retractable escalator?" Leo grunted as he dropped it on the ground. "Gah! My foot!"
Rolling her eyes, Piper walked over and lifted the plank off of Leo's foot, who grabbed it and started hopping around and yelling curse words.
"Calm down, it's just a stubbed toe," Piper scolded. In response, Leo howled even louder.
"Dude, we've got to get going," Jason said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Fine, let the cripple drive the flying boat," Leo complained, gingerly putting his foot on the floor.
"You're the only one who knows how!"
"Good point."
As Leo dramatically hobbled off towards the controls, I gripped my hands on the railing. The boat lurched off the ground, and the crowd started yelling.
Soon we were in the air and above the trees. As we were gaining height, Piper walked over to me.
"Hey, you okay?"
I shrugged. The ecstasy from first boarding the ship was quickly fading, replaced by a horrible feeling of nervousness.
"We're going to get your boyfriend! You're going to see him again! Wouldn't you get excited?"
"I am...I just can't stop thinking about what Jason said to me."
"Oh, that? How he won't remember you? Don't try to take him to seriously. He's too serious for his own good."
I sighed. "You should start practicing your lines. I need to get my nervous energy out somehow. I'll be in the miniature arena."
Piper looked like she still wanted to talk, but she let it go. I brushed past her and headed to the downstairs.
I poked my head inside the control room. Leo was dancing around the room - completely forgetting about his foot - to a CD he had put in the player and shaking his Wii remotes that controlled the sails. Rolling my eyes, I left and made it to the arena.
Abandoning my knife, I picked up a short sword and practiced swinging it around. I knew that my sword skills could never amount to Percy's, but I was still pretty good.
I placed some earbuds in my ears to drown out the pounding of my nervous heart and started swinging and hacking at a dummy.
I had no idea how long I was down there. I knew that the amount of time to get from New York to California would be short because of the flying ship, but the time passed way too quickly.
What felt like too soon, Piper came in.
"Annabeth, we're almost there. You need to come up on the deck."
To Be Continued...
And now we're done. :(
I'm going to be honest with you. I'm horrible at ending stories, especially ones that include sequels. I'm really sorry that the end is lame. Just be happy to know that the sequel is in progress. So, really, the story isn't over at all! *fake optimism*
And now, it's time for the thank yous. The official ones. So this author's note is going to be really long.
First, to my reviewers. All of you. Even though I'm sure it only took about fifteen seconds to write and submit, all of you were incredibly kind and supportive. Every review made me so happy, and I want to personally thank you by name.
A very special thanks to:
Cookie my life
Starkid Rocks (I agree)
lionDreamerAKAfan
THE-MAN-IN-THE-CORNER
Daughter of Magic
PercyplusAnnabeth (Favorite pairing :])
PiperMcLean351
blueberryoreo (that sounds oddly delicious)
sheeptopus (I cannot get over how awesome your name is)
Sinclair12
laura loom
softball4ever
PercabethAndZebrasFTW (Let's make a fan club about that!)
bookworm909
Apollosunchariot
Sailor Sea
mrpuppy
Yellow Submarine
Cerulean Apocalypse
PJAC416
PAFFElove
HarryPotterPJODoctorWho (I am in love with your screen name)
oneHPloverandonePJlover
kkawesome101
Chocolate123
chocolate bunny
annabethchaseseyes
Percyrox234
GothicPunk123 (I've read your story and I love it! Keep writing!)
Flame
Percabeth4ever
The Reader
trustingHim17 (Birthday buddies!)
PeaceLoveandCheese (Thank you so much for taking time to read my story! I love yours, and it made me 'specially happy to see you review)
Headintheclouds818
Hakuna-Matataa
Leanne
WisestOwl
PercyJacksonAddict
Anna575
jayebirdgirl
Festus104
death boy
thein123 (I want to thank you for the suggestions! I'll put them into effect in the sequel.)
AeronThana, and
omgiloveit
And a bonus to PercyplusAnnabeth, PercabethAndZebrasFTW, bookworm909, and kkawesome101 for all of the many reviews that you've left. Virtual rainbows and cookies for you!
A shout out to GothicPunk123 and their awesome story. They asked me to read it and I did, and I think it's fantastic. I'm following it, and I get excited for each new chapter.
Another thanks to PeaceLoveandCheese. Their take on Mark of Athena is wonderful (and still in progress!), and I'm in love. I asked them to read my story, and they gave me such kind feedback. Thank you!
Whew...I think that's it! I think as such a big thanks to you and making it through the Academy Award speech, I'll give you a reward.
The title to the sequel.
Oh, I'm so nice.
And now, for the title:
Drumroll, please.
.
.
.
.
.
The title is: Forgotten.
Why don't you think about that. The hint I gave you, Lethe. And the title, Forgotten. What could it mean?
The sequel is coming out soon! I'll need to put on a bit of restraint because I want to write it and post it right now, but I don't think I should post it so soon.
Remember, I'll post an alert on this story when Forgotten is released.
Until next time, my fantabulous readers and followers!
Thanks again!
-littlebitclever