A/N: I'm late. You want to kill me. I should have posted this chapter last Saturday but it wasn't complete. Sorry. I've been busy. Life sometimes catches up to you especially when you have summer reading. News flash school starts in less than two weeks for those who haven't even started reading. And I feel bad for those who already have started school. Summer goes by way too fast. It dawned on me that I had completely forgotten to write sooooo here it is. My third attempt on this chapter. I kept changing the POV. There is a lot of stuff going on. YAY CHAPTER 10! Double digits!
Chapter 10
Grover POV
How many times can you search the same room for hidden doors or magic compartments? He's a god after all. How else would he hide? What kind of god would be out in the open?
It felt like days when really it was only a couple of hours. But hey, it wasn't as hard as trying to find Pan. And then there was Annabeth to worry about. I seriously have no idea how she convinced us to let her stay behind because the moment we left I had a bad feeling about it. I asked myself what could go wrong? But I didn't like the answers my mind came up with so I just pushed those thoughts aside.
A chill ran down my spine. Ever had that feeling you were being watched? Yeah, it was that kind of chill. Rather unpleasant.
A loud crash rang from the other side of the room. "Bleehheh! What was that?!" I cried nearly jumping through the roof.
"Oh, hold onto your fur. I just dropped a metal pitcher." Phoebe scolded crouching down to retrieve it.
I frowned and shied away. Somehow I always manage to make a fool of myself in front of her and she'll never let me hear the end of it.
A suit of armor rested against the wall. Again I felt on edge when the chill came giving me goosebumps. Come on Grover pull yourself together. I scolded myself. Just because the armor was creepy doesn't make it harmful, right?
When another loud clatter of metal hitting the ground I scowled and turned to give Phoebe a good come back, "I'll hold onto my fur if you hold onto something in those butter fingers of yours." but when I got a better look Phoebe was nowhere to be seen. And neither was the suit of armor that had just scared the living day out of me.
Calm down. She's probably just around the corner looking. I thought hopefully glancing anxiously around the other room. She wasn't there. Aw crap.
"Phoebe?" I whispered. Another clang of metal clinking against the floor rang from behind. "Who's there?"
Famous last words. I took one small step backward and magically the floor drops from beneath me. The feeling of falling churned in my gut. Sliding blindly through the dark tunnel I clawed at the slick cold walls trying to latch onto anything. The slide took a sharp turn and then dropped. The floor came rushing up to greet me and I crashed into it.
I gasped as white hot pain shot through my shoulder. Wincing I pushed myself up with my good arm.
"Grover?" I heard Phoebe a couple of feet away from me.
"I'm here." I grunted, "You okay?"
"Apart from the fact that we just fell like two or three stories, are in a basement with no clue how to get out, and an awful headache coming along from the floor deciding to smash my face? I'm grand."
"That's nice."
We were in a windowless circular room with a closed wooden door. Greek fire danced on the torches that hung on the walls dimly lighting the room.
Clutching my right shoulder with my other hand I staggered towards the door.
"No handle." I told Phoebe examining the small keyhole.
"Handles are for wimps. Allow me." She pushed me aside and began kicking the door. It rattled as if to object to her abusive thrusts. I surpressed a snicker as the talking locked door from Alice in Wonderland popped in my head. Man, being around people who are ADHD really rubs off on you.
"It's not going to break." I rolled my eyes.
CRACK! The wood splintered around the lock and the rest of the door swung open whisling on it hinges as if to say 'I told ya so'.
"Really?" Phoebe gave me the look.
I held my hands up in surrender wincing when my shoulder decided it didn't like being moved, "Okay! It broke. So what?"
"So you were wrong. Like boys usually are.
I grumbled something about hunters being annoying and ungrateful- fill in the blank with a word of your choice.
A large hallway opened up but I couldn't see very far due to the limited light.
Without warning Phoebe's hand lit with bright white flames that licked her finger fondly.
I leapt away started. "I- I forgot to ask you about that." I stuttered.
"Oh, right. I guess I should have told you that I'm a daughter of Hephaestus."
"But no ones been able to do that for-"
"for hundreds of years. Yeah, I know. I've been around for a while." she interupted which made me wonder how old she really was. She looked fourteen. "It's gotten me into more trouble than you can imagine. All fire does is cause trouble. I learned the hard way. It's even harder being the alone in my talents. At least I used to be alone."
"What?" I asked.
"Never mind!" she said rather quickly.
I eyed her suspiciously but decided to let it drop. I'd worry about it later. Hearing that she was a fire user worried me. I'd heard rumors about all the problems they can make.
"Why didn't you just burn the door off?"
"Because then you would be suffocating in smoke and probably cooked into goat meat."
"Haha very funny. Lead the way." I said and gesturing ahead of us.
We didn't talk the rest of the way. I liked the silence better than the bickering to be honest.
It was a dungeon. I realized. A divine dungeon. Celestial bronze chains glowed behind the bars of each cell.
Turning the corner we heard whimpering and sniffling. Someone was crying. The voice was familiar. Holy Zeus, it was Annabeth.
I met Phoebe's gaze for a split second. She had the same epiphany as me.
We sprinted towards her voice. Our steps echoed loudly through the empty halls. My shoulder screamed at me to stop but I ignored it. Finding Annabeth or dealing with the discomfort of pain? The answer was obvious.
We only stopped once. Why? Because a line of freaky knight armor thingies nearly skewered me with a spear pointing outward. If Phoebe hadn't grabbed me by the hoodie and jerked me back I would have been goat shish kebob.
"Hold your horses!" Phoebe said.
"I hope that wasn't a barn joke because if it was-"
"Not now, Grover!"
I had to admit. She had a point.
I pulled out my reed pipes. Phoebe's bow magically appeared and arrows were already notched and ready to be fired.
"I call the two on the left." Phoebe claimed.
"You can't call dibs in a fight." I protested.
"Watch me." and two arrows imbedded themselves in the forehead of the helmets. The suits didn't even flinch. Great. There almost as invincible as Nico's undead army.
I began playing my pipes. I've never been that good but whatever works as long as you get the outcome you want. Being underground gave me a slight advantage. Roots were everywhere. All I had to do was break through the stone wall.
It didn't take long for me to break past it. The roots protruded from the walls and grabbed the armor ripping them limb from limb which shouldn't hurt anything since there really were no limbs under the hollow shells.
But then the ceiling began to crumble. Pebbles and dirt rained down on our heads.
"Run!" I yelled rushing past Phoebe and the knights she was trying to defeat. Glancing around she didn't question me. She abandoned the fight and sprinted away with me.
The suits didn't know what hit them. Literally hit them. Rubble and dirt came crashing down on their heads like thunder roaring from a very angry Zeus.
It was like an earthquake. The ground shook as if it were angry. Sorry, I thought, just needed to borrow some roots. I meant to return them when I was done.
Dust flooded the corridor suffocating like smoke. I coughed and sputtered running away from the wreckage. At least we didn't have to worry about the armor and more.
"That could have been worse." I said after I caught my breath.
Phoebe grunted in reply still trying to get the dust from her lungs.
"No!" I heard a voice yell.
"Annabeth!" I called. A long pause came after that.
"G-g-Grover?" We turned one last corner and there she was. Pale, looking in pain, depressed, but a small glint of fury formed in her stormy bloodshot grey eyes.
"Are you alright?" Phoebe asked.
She held up manacles that were clamped onto her wrists in response. I scowled. They were celestial bronze like every other blasted chains in the place. Hephaestus himself would have to come if we wanted Annabeth to get out of these.
"Asclepius tricked me. I didn't really have a choice. Let Percy, Thalia, and Nico die or replace him in the chains. They're enchanted. Zues had them specially made."
"So are our friends-?" I gulped.
Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath hiccuping and bringer her hand to her stomach. Stupid burns. She sighed, "I made Asclepius swear on the Styx to heal them but he said- he said he was going to make it painful. There was an Iris Message of Percy but after the dust came and blocked the rainbow it- it stopped. Gods I'm an idiot if I would have just-"
"Annabeth Chase!" Phoebe scolded, "You are anything but an idiot. Not just because you are a child of Athena or that you are a girl. You are brave and you did the right thing. I wouldn't have remembered to make him swear on the Styx to heal them. And he probably would have gone back on his word if you hadn't. So you are anything but an idiot. We are the idiots for letting you talk us into leaving you alone in that room upstairs."
Annabeth gave a half smile. "He has a plan. He's going to do something absolutely dreadful. I just don't know what it is."
I laughed, "Listen closely. That will be the first and the last time you ever hear Annabeth Chase say that she doesn't know something."
"Shutup, Grover." but I knew her spirits were lifted by that. Score one for the G-man!
"First things first." Phoebe said, "Before we can get cracking on Asclepius and checking in on our friends we have to get you out of those things."
"You can't unless someone willingly replaces me in the chains. They're enchanted."
It was quiet for a minute but the Phoebe looked Annabeth in the eyes. "Well then you have to get out of here."
"What?" Annabeth asked surprised.
"I'm going to replace you. How do you do it?"
"Phoebe, you don't have to-"
"I know I don't. But I'm immortal and you're not. Plus you've got a nasty burn that needs tending to. Now tell me. How do I replace you?"
"With the key."
"What key?" but as she said it a shiny bronze key appeared in her hand.
Phoebe didn't hesitate she pushed the key in one clamp and turned it. With a satisfying click it dropped off of Annabeth's wrist. Phoebe harnessed it to her own.
Another key appeared and this time Phoebe fumbled around trying to fit the key into the integer clamps hole. Her hands were shaking.
Annabeth looked up with concern. "Phoebe you still don't-"
"YES I DO! Now don't try to stop me." she sighed. "I'm sorry. I just have this feeling that it should be me. Okay?"
She nodded.
The second shackle slipped off her wrist and Phoebe placed it on her own. "Now go. I'll be fine. Take care of her Grover. And tell Thalia that she better put some bolts up Asclepius' butt for me."
We both nodded and said our goodbyes. We would stop Asclepius from whatever he was planning. For Phoebe since she was now stuck in Asclepius' personal prison. For Thalia who was sick. For Nico who was also sick. For Percy who was extremely sick according to Will. For Annabeth who has that acid burn. And not to be annoying but I wanted some payback for my shoulder but mostly for everything else that I just said.
In the back of my mind I could feel a twinge of discomfort. Whatever Asclepius was doing to them had to be absolutely agonizing if I could feel Percy's pain. I was ready to kick some godly butt... Again.
Shorter and not as satisfying as I would have liked it to be but I did my best. Sorry again for the terribly long wait. It probably won't happen again. Saturday is my official posting date. Or my try to post date. Two a days practices start for volleyball on Monday through Saturday so I don't known when I will have time to write this week. Only time will tell.
Ideas are welcomed... Needed. Review or PM idea's!
Voting- who do you want the next POV to be? Percy, Annabeth, Grover
Thank everybody :)
- Up-in-the-Clouds1285