Hello, guys!
I'm very sorry about the slow pace of my uploads. Moving abroad is taking a lot of my time. But no worries – there will be more. A special thanks to Percabeth 4evah for your... interesting review. It's refreshing to get some negative reviews as well. Don't worry, I hate Rachel, too. But without further ado, here's the 12th chapter!
Thalia's POV
"What are we going to do about the prophecy?" Annabeth asked the first thing in the morning.
"I really don't know," Rachel said and yawned.
No one had slept well, because our tent had been infested with mosquitoes. How could it possibly be filled with little insects, when the fabric was supposed to protect us from monsters? We didn't know. I'd have to talk to Artemis about this.
"Let's just wait and see what happens. If something's about to happen, it will," said Percy, who was rummaging my backpack for some food.
"Oatmeal? Thals, why do you always bring oatmeal? It tastes like cardboard!" he whined, when he found the food I had packed with us.
"Well what would mister Seaweed Brain want for his royal breakfast then?" I mocked him. He dropped the oatmeal packet.
"Okay, okay. Pinecone Face," he mumbled. I threw a pinecone at him. Ha! Who's a pinecone face now?
I prepared the oatmeal and we ate in silence. Annabeth's head was drooping on Percy's shoulder. Percy and Rachel yawned in harmony. I had taken a little walk earlier and it had waken me up a bit, but I was still drowsy. I'd have to secure the tent against mosquitoes for tonight. We'd had the time of our lives last night teaching Rachel how to play Pinochle. Percy had done some awesome Mr. D. impersonations and we'd laughed so hard at him! Rachel was a fast learner and soon she beat Percy, who pouted then and he looked so much like Mr. D., that we'd burst into laughter again. That was the point, when there were just too many mosquitoes to live with and we'd dived into our sleeping bags and covered our faces.
I looked at my friends: they were still almost asleep
"How about going for a swim?" I asked them. A good swim would wake them up.
A second later I wished I hadn't said anything, because Percy jumped up, pushing Annabeth to the ground in the process. Annabeth yelped as she woke up. Her yell woke up Rachel, who, too, jumped up and poured oatmeal on her shirt.
"I'm not going swimming, Thalia," Percy said, his face hard.
"I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't remember how angry Poseidon is," I said.
"Calm down, Seaweed Brain," Rachel said and tried to clean up her shirt. No use. "Eww, look at this mess! You really need to get some anger management, because I really don't like oatmeal on my shirt, thank you."
"Sorry, Rachel," Percy apologized, while pulling Annabeth from the ground. Something had happened to them, when they'd talked outside last night. They seemed...different.
"Apology accepted. If you wash my shirt," Rachel grinned at Percy, who frowned dramatically.
"Ugh, I can't live in eternal debt. I'll wash your shirt. Oh, that would mean...water. Well, I'll just send your shirt to my mom. She'll wash it in her machine." Percy grinned back at Rachel.
"Well... Do you want the shirt now, or later?" Rachel asked, her tone innocent. Percy blushed scarlet.
"You don't necessarily have to give it to me just now, okay?" he said. Annabeth wrapped an arm around his waist, like she was making sure he knew she was still there. Percy kissed her cheek.
Annabeth saw me looking at them with curiosity.
"Hey, Thalia. How are you today?" she asked in a mockingly polite tone.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just...tired," I tried. Hah, Annabeth could see through me.
"Yeah, right. Come, I need to talk to you," she said and pulled me away by the hand.
We stopped after about a hundred meters.
"Percy said he loved me!" Annabeth shrieked the second we'd stopped walking.
"Oh, Annabeth, that's wonderful!" I said, but inside I couldn't really feel happy for her. She reminded me about Grover and the decision I'd have to make.
Suddenly, my every thought was occupied by a decision I either had already made, or one, that should be made.
"Annabeth, do you feel the same that I do?" I asked. This really was disturbing.
"If you mean my mind being manipulated, yeah. Totally," she said, suspicion in her eyes. Suddenly there was a man standing in front of us. Or at least, it looked somewhat like a man. He had two faces, both on the sides of his head, where his ears should be.
"Janus," Annabeth cried out.
Where did Annabeth know this guy?
"Yeah, it's me!" his left face sneered. "Missed me already?"
"I most certainly missed you," said his right face. "Your indecision was adorable!"
"Who are you?" I asked. Janus turned to me. Or, I thought so, because he shifted himself so, that he was posed in front of me, like he'd done with Annabeth. His two-face-thing was quite disturbing. I didn't know which face to look at.
"I'm your sweetest dream," the right face said.
"I'm your worst nightmare," the left face said.
"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."
"And I know who you are," the right face said.
"Oh, yeah I do!" the left face added. "You're Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus!"
Hearing my last name sent my blood rushing through my veins.
"I don't have a last name," I spat at Janus.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the right face said.
"By the way, Annabeth, I know you have some decisions to make," the left face said. "And so do you, Thalia Gr..."
"Don't mess with her, Janus!" the right face said.
"Why? I like to mess with people!" the left face pouted.
"Would someone tell me what's going on?" I cried. This Janus guy was freaking me out. This didn't make any sense to me at all.
"Janus, stop confusing her!" ordered Annabeth. The look on her face was fierce.
"I'm not confusing her," said the right face with an innocent expression.
"I'm just trying to offer her choices, but you keep interrupting me," the left face added.
"I don't need you offering me choices," I said coldly. "I know the choices I have."
"Yes, but have you already made the choice between them?" the left face asked.
"No...but -"
"Well go on! Make the choice!" the right face said.
"And you too, Annabeth. You have to make your choice too!" the left face said to Annabeth. Her fierce expression turned into fear.
"You know I have made the choice, Janus," she whispered. Janus shook his head.
"No, I don't think you have," said Janus' right face. "You are not sure about your choice."
"I am!" Annabeth said. Tears started to gather in her eyes. "I love Percy!"
"Oh, I must consult Percy too," the left face said. "But you have to make the decision together. The other can't back out. So choose, Annabeth. Choose."
Annabeth was really crying now. I suppose she'd met Janus before.
"Stop it, Janus!" I snapped at him.
"Be sure, that I will visit you again soon, Thalia. Your indecision will be interesting to watch," the right face said. "I will leave you now. To decide for yourselves."
A silver key appeared in Janus' hand. He twisted it in the air, like there was a lock there and he vanished.
"Are you okay, Annabeth?" I asked. Stupid question, really. Everyone could see she wasn't okay. Still, she nodded.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm okay."
"Let's go back to Percy and Rachel. I think at least Percy should know what just happened," I said and wrapped my arm around Annabeth's shoulders.
Back at the campfire, Percy and Rachel had fallen asleep. They'd both fallen off the logs they had been sitting on and now they were lying on the ground. Percy was drooling. Rachel snored.
Annabeth seemed to think they had too little space between them.
"Up you get, Seaweed Brain!" she yelled and yanked Percy up.
"Wha... Did I fall... yawn... asleep?" Percy asked.
"You sure did, Perce," I grinned at him.
Percy looked around and when she spotted Rachel lying on the ground, not two feet from he'd slept, he said quickly: "Oh, I'm sorry" and pecked Annabeth on her cheek. 'I love you' Annabeth mouthed. Or, at least I thought it was 'I love you'. I felt a jolt in my stomach. I missed Grover. I wondered, what he was doing. He was probably on his way to get that kid to camp.
"Let's wake Rachel up," Annabeth said and looked at me. Oh, yeah. We'd need to tell them about Janus' visit.
"Leave it to me," said Percy and went to Rachel. He crouched beside her and grinned at us.
"I've been dying to do this for months!" he said and bent to whisper in Rachel's ear.
Rachel rolled over and muttered something. I couldn't hear exactly what, but Percy was amused. He chuckled and crooned:
"Rachel... It's time to wake up." While he said that, he brushed the hair off Rachel's face.
"What the hades are you doing, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. I could tell she was jealous.
"Calm down, Wise Girl. I'm just poking fun," said Percy and grinned again. He stroked Rachel's cheek again.
"Rachel..."
"Errm...Uh?" Rachel mumbled.
"Rachel?" I asked and giggled quietly. She was still half asleep and the whole situation was pretty funny to watch. Even though what Percy was doing was kinda cruel.
"Shut up," Rachel said drowsily. "I'm having a good dream here."
"What are you dreaming of, Rachel?" Percy asked, trying hard not to laugh.
Rachel sighed and said:
"I'm just about to kiss you, Percy."
I couldn't help it, I burst laughing. Percy was holding his stomach, laughing silently. Even Annabeth started giggling, when Percy made a kissing motion toward her.
My burst of laughter finally woke Rachel up.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked, confused.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing," I giggled.
Annabeth was the first to manage to get her face straight.
"Thalia and I have to talk to you two," she said. That made me and Percy stop laughing. I had almost forgotten, that we really had something to tell Percy and Rachel.
Percy's POV
I wondered what was so important. Well, I suppose I should have gotten used to urgent matters already, but I just didn't have a clue of what it would be this time.
"Okay," I said. "What's happened now?"
"I'm not quite sure, so I think it's best, if Annabeth told you," Thalia said and looked at Annabeth. She nodded and started:
"Well... I had something to tell to Thalia...but that you already know. The thing is, that just when we'd got behind those bushes over there," Annabeth pointed at a shrubbery about a hundred meters away, "we had a visitor. You know him already, Percy. Janus."
Oh, Hades! I knew Janus, all right. He'd harassed Annabeth in Daedalus' labyrinth.
"What did he want? Are you okay, Annabeth? Did he say something to you, Thalia?" the words came from my mouth as a blur. There were so many things I wanted to know.
"I'm quite okay. Although, Janus was very keen on reminding me about the choice between obeying my mother and loving you." Annabeth blushed with the last part. Rachel jumped at the word 'love'.
"He reminded me about my decisions, too," Thalia joined in.
"What decisions?" Rachel asked.
"Errm..." I mumbled. I wasn't sure, if Thalia would want to share her mind with Rachel, whom she barely knew. Annabeth and I shared a concerned look.
"Oh, I get it, I get it. Sorry, Thalia," Rachel said quickly, when she saw our expressions.
"It's okay. It's just that I have some difficult choices to make, too," Thalia said.
"Oh, okay," said Rachel and she dropped her gaze to the ground.
I felt bad for her. She wasn't really a part of our little gang. I knew just how it felt. When I first went to Camp Half-Blood I'd felt really outside. I didn't have a clue back then. I could remember my first 'Capture the flag' like it was only yesterday, when it had taken place. I had just stood there, in border patrol, feeling stupid and the Ares' kids had tried to hit the living daylights out of me. I smiled at the thought. And there I was again. In the same place. Back at camp they would've put me in border patrol and all the others would've creamed me. Only a few things had changed. Now, I wasn't the only one feeling stupid. Annabeth was there, too. For this once, she wasn't the one, who watched and laughed, when I screwed. She was in this with me. And I was grateful.
Our first day of therapy vacation went by. We were too tired to do anything and we hit the sac early. This time we secured the tent door, so that any bugs couldn't enter the tent. I slept in one corner with Annabeth next to me. On her other side, there was Thalia and finally Rachel. Obviously, Annabeth had arranged our places. Silly little Wise Girl. Before turning off our flashlights, Annabeth shuffled closer to me and moved my arms toward her. I obediently wrapped them around her. The last second before passing out, I heard her whisper:
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Wise Girl," I murmured.
I slept dreamless that night... Until Thalia woke me up.
"Percy! Come on, wake up!" she whispered and shook me.
"What's going on, Thalia?" I asked. Then I felt it. Deep inside my brain, a voice called me. A voice I knew almost too well: the terrified bleating of my favorite goat boy.
"Perrr-cy!"
"Grover? What is it?" I asked.
"Monster doughnuts! They're everywhere! She's in charge of them!" he shouted. I didn't understand a word he was saying.
"What? Grover, calm down and explain me," I tried to sooth him, but I could tell it was too late – the connection had broken.
I turned to Thalia.
"How did you..."
"I had this dream of him. I think he was trying to reach me, too. But anyway, he's in trouble. We need to go help him!"
True.
We began a super-quick waking up operation, which was quite easy. At least waking Annabeth up was. She, like demigods in general, slept light, because of our battle reflexes. Funny, because even though our other reflexes had been taken away, we were still sleeping bad. Rachel on the other hand... Well, let's just say, that we had to use some hardcore waking methods in order to get her awake.
Thalia and I explained the situation quickly. The girls were fully awake that very second and we started to gather up our stuff, which didn't take long.
"Now, where can we find Grover?" I asked. "He said some nonsense about monster doughnuts everywhere..."
Then I got it. When Annabeth, Tyson and I had been on our way to rescue Grover, we had marooned on this island, where Tyson had found a doughnut shop called Monster Doughnuts. Oh, Hades! This wasn't good. We didn't know if he had the kid already with him, but if he had, that would certainly not help us.
"Annabeth? Do you remember the island, where we met Hydra?" I asked.
"Yes. Thalia knows it, too."
Oh, right. They had built a little safe house there, when they were young and with Luke.
"Which one was it, Annabeth?" Thalia asked. I supposed they'd built many safe houses around the US.
"The one near the Sea of Monsters."
"Okay... How are we going to get there?" Rachel said. "And what and where exactly is this Sea of Monsters?"
"The Bermuda Triangle," I told her. "That's why there's been so many missing ships and planes there. They've got lost there of eaten up by monsters. Or both."
"Well, that sounds a nice place indeed..." she muttered.
"Rachel's right, though. How are we gonna get there?" I asked, eyeing Annabeth and Thalia.
Annabeth frowned.
"Don't ask questions like that, Seaweed Brain. It kills me, not being able to think."
"I'm sorry. The question wasn't precisely addressed to you," I said and kissed the top of her head.
"Fly to Florida and take a boat from there?" Thalia suggested.
"Really bad idea, Thalia," Rachel said.
"Oh, why?"
"Percy can't fly and I'm pretty sure, that the best thing for him is to take a boat across the sea."
Why do girls have to be so damn smart all the time?
"What other choices do we have?" Annabeth asked.
"None," Thalia said.
"Then we'll have to fly and sail," I said.
"Percy, you can't!" Annabeth cried.
"I don't have any other choice," I argued. "We have to save Grover."
"Poseidon will drown you!"
"I'll take the risk."
"You swore you wouldn't leave me!"
"So I won't die then."
"How can you know?"
Why do girls have to be so damn stubborn all the time?
"Look, Annabeth. I have made a decision here. I'm going to save Grover and stay alive. I won't leave you. None of us will die," I said and wrapped my arms securely around Annabeth's waist.
"Percy, don't try to distract me," Annabeth said.
"I'm not trying to distract you. I'm just telling how things are going to work. And, maybe using some of the effect I have on you as a helpful tool in making you believe I'm right this time," I kissed her lips quickly, unwrapped my arms and turned to Thalia and Rachel.
"We'll have to speak with Chiron first. We're gonna need a rainbow."
"That's why I always keep a spray bottle with me nowadays," Annabeth said. I supposed she'd accepted her fate and was going to go along with my plan.
"Good girl," I said and patted her head slightly. She hit me with the bottle she'd taken out of her backpack.
"Who's got change?" Thalia asked. "I'm out of drachmas."
"I've got some," I said and dug my pockets. I found a drachma and tossed it into the spray of water Annabeth was making against the rising sun.
"O, goddess! Accept our offering!" I prayed.
The next moment, I almost got a stroke. Annabeth stopped spraying. A girly female voice spoke from nowhere:
"This is Lady Iris. A very good morning! Or day, or whatever it is right now. I'm not available at the moment. I suppose I'm doing some job for the gods or something. If you're an Olympian god, leave a message. If you're a minor god, leave a message. If you're a demigod, don't bother. I'm busy and not able to attend to your little problems. Have a pleasant day!"
"What the Hades was that?" Rachel asked.
"I think it was Iris' answering machine," Thalia said. All the girls looked surprised. I guess I did, too.
"So... We won't be able to reach Chiron. I suggest we leave now," I said.
"Do we have any mortal money?" Thalia asked.
"Don't look at me, I'm broke," I said.
"Same here," said Annabeth.
"Well I've got all the mortal money we need," Rachel said and pulled out her credit card. There was the logo of her father's firm on it. Dare Enterprises.
"Awesome! Let's get going then!" I said and we rushed away, leaving our campsite behind.
We found a bus stop just outside the forest. Lucky for us, we didn't have to wait there for long. Rachel and Annabeth went back to sleep as soon as the bus started moving. Annabeth snuggled close to me and closed her eyes. Her head was bent on my shoulder and her position looked quite uncomfortable to me, so I pulled her on my lap, careful not to wake her up, and let her head rest against my chin. Thalia, who sat with Rachel on the seats in front of us, turned around to peek over the back of her seat.
"Percy, are you really sure about the boat trip to the island?" she asked, her face painted with concern.
"Not exactly, but it's the only way," I said.
Annabeth adjusted herself on my lap. The feeling sent a shiver down my spine. Shoot. I didn't want to turn into a testosterone fueled hormone monster. I leaned over Annabeth's shoulder to kiss her cheek. She sighed.
"You really love her, I can tell," Thalia mused as she watched us.
"I do," I said and blushed. It was so different telling Annabeth I loved her, than telling anyone else about it.
"I'm glad. I have never seen her this content," said Thalia. "Even though you two are screwed, you are happy all the same."
"Yeah..."
"Are we there yet?" I heard Rachel ask. She had woken up.
I checked the time.
"Only a half an hour to go," I told her.
She turned to peer over her back, too. When she saw me and Annabeth, her eyes dropped to her hands.
"So... We're going to fly to Miami and what then?" she asked.
"Rent a boat and sail on the Monster Doughnut -island," I said. "I'm sorry, that we're using your money so relentlessly."
I really was sorry. This wasn't going to end up being cheap.
When we had about ten minutes of the ride left, I woke Annabeth up. She was a bit confused at first, because she obviously didn't have a clue about me taking her to sit on my lap.
"It's time to fly," I murmured in her ear.
We'd have to pray, that Zeus wasn't on our parents' side in this battle, because if he was, we were screwed.
The flight was the most terrifying ever. I started hyperventilating every time we flew in an air pocket or something else shook the plane. Luckily Annabeth was quite good in distracting me. The touch of her hand on my cheek, her lips against mine and hearing her voice telling me she loved me were the three most powerful tools of distraction ever.
After a few hours' flight we finally arrived in Miami. When the wheels of the plane touched the ground I was so grateful, that I almost yelled a 'thank you' to Zeus for letting me go through his domain. Then I turned to Annabeth, kissed her and thanked her, too.
"No problem. That was one of the best flights I've ever experienced."
I have to say, that even though I had been scared to death, the flight had been quite pleasurable. After all, how many times a month you get to spend hours kissing the girl you love, when your godly parents want to tear you apart and they will use everything in their power to prevent you from being together? I tell you, you really have to cherish those kind of occasions.
"One of the best?" I asked playfully.
"Okay, Seaweed Brain. The best," Annabeth smiled and kissed me again.
I was able to breathe freely, when we finally got out of the plane. We went to the luggage reclaim, got our backpacks and started hunting for a boat rental-place. Sure enough, there was one really close to the airport.
"Good morning, kids," the owner, an old and skinny man with a deep tan and freckles greeted us when we walked into the rental office.
"Good morning. We'd like to rent a boat," Annabeth said. We made her do the talking, because she looked the most mature of us.
"Well, what kind of boat you're interested in?" asked the owned and slammed some brochures on the counter.
The boats were amazing! There were hundreds of sailboats, each more beautiful than the other. I would've been happy with any of them, but we didn't want to spend much money on the boat, since there was a big possibility, that we would never bring the boat back in a sailing condition. That's why we settled with a little yacht with one cabin and vapid interior.
Don't ask me how we got the boat without giving any ID. I suppose it had something to do with the Mist. My hands were shaking and my knees felt weak as we set sail towards the ocean and the Monster Doughnut -island.
This was today's chapter of Come what may! I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are very much appreciated. Athena's cabin wishes you the most awesome day!
Peace, love, PJO.
Luv,
AC
Oh, by the way, the beginning of this fic has been translated in German. More chapters are yet to come. Thank you, Tanja for your awesome work! The link to the German version is on my profile.