hi! thnx for nearly 250 reviews, 100+ favs, and 150+ follows! U GUYS R DA BEST.
so the Lucas/Ella ship name is probably going to be Luella or Lucella :) yayyyyyyyy!
thnx keverbloom XD. i hate reading cliffhangers, too. but sadly, i love to write them. My favorite kind of cookie is probably chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin chocolate chip (CHOCOLATE CHIPS ROCK, AM I RIGHT?)
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER IS YET AGAIN A CLIFF HANGER. SORRY. (...not, hee-hee)
i have a secret that none of you know. you'll never guess!
I'M NOT RICK RIORDAN.
...oh wait... you knew that already.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
-_-_Zachary Jason Grace_-_-
I'M BASICALLY DOOMED.
I'm not sure why I'm not dead.
There's definitely something wrong. My entire body is numb and it feels lifeless, but I'm still conscious. For a few minutes, I feel the water swirling around me, and then it's gone. I can't move and my entire body is cold.
I hear voices, but not what they're saying.
For a few minutes the voices speak to one another, and I notice how they sound like a pleasant hum.
Then the first clear word: "Zach!"
What the hell is a "Zach?"
"Percy!" the same voice says. It's feminine, worried. "Can you do the same thing to him that you did to Jason?"
I feel something touch my forehead, before a different, panicky voice replies, "No. It's not water in his lungs. It's the oil stuff."
"Is… he alive?" a third voice asks.
Was I alive? I couldn't tell.
"I think so," the second voice says. "He's barely breathing, though."
"What do we do?" the first voice, the girl, sounds desperate.
"We'd better get out of here, first. Hagno said the tunnel would fade soon after she left," the third voice says.
Okay, I officially have no idea what's going on.
"I'll get him," the third voice speaks again. "Come on."
Get him? Get who?
I feel myself get lifted up. As I'm carried, I hear a creaking, mechanical noise. It gets louder. I wonder what it is. I'm set down on a cold floor, but it doesn't make me much colder than I already am.
"What is it?" the girl asks in hushed whisper.
From that moment forward, I can't figure out what anyone is saying. It feels like an eternity that I just sit there, blind and nearly deaf. And cold and frozen.
Suddenly everything changes and I'm lying on a soft couch somewhere. A crowd roars around me.
"This is a proper show!" Booms a loud voice that I recognize vaguely.
A comforting voice whispers next to me, and I feel as if I'm sitting by a fire, suddenly filled with warmth before my eyes fly open.
"Where am I?" I gasp, before I spot Piper sitting next to me, getting her shoulder (which is apparently hurt) tended to by a nymph dressed like a nurse.
Bacchus is standing a few feet away, not looking towards us. I look over at a small, weak-looking boy who looks familiar.
"Um, hi," I say to him.
He squints at me. "Have we met?"
"Nico, this is Zach, Zach this is Nico," Piper introduces distractedly. She's too focused on something far below us.
I sit up, ignoring the nymph's protests and I see Percy and Jason in an arena with two huge, hulking figures. It dawns on me that we're in a massive arena, filled with thousands of cheering ghosts.
"What are those things?" I squeak, my voice making me sound pathetic. (I'm obviously referring to the things Percy and Jason were about to fight.)
"Giants," Nico says.
I turn and look at him, trying not to feel betrayed that he too was a demigod all this time (in the future, duh) and didn't tell me. I shake my head, tearing my eyes away from him to watch Percy and Jason.
Admittedly, as I watch, I jump at everything that happens.
Jason's death means my death and Percy's death means Aubrey's. Both of them have to live through this.
I have to marvel at the skill of my dad and uncle. I mean, just picture seeing your parents fighting giants… and doing a hell of a good job, too.
At some point, I notice the Argo II flying over us. My eyes widen as an explosion shakes the earth. Bacchus appears down in the arena and exchanges conversation with Percy and Jason. The crowd roars in approval as Bacchus taps one of the giants on the nose with his magical pinecone stick and he explodes into dust.
Piper and Nico get up and stumble down the marble steps to the center of the arena. I follow as best I can, but I feel weak, and a few hours' sleep would do me miracles. It makes me wonder why they would just leave me to drunkenly fall down the stairs.
When I stagger into the tight knit circle I don't hear the exchange between the demigods, because I my heart sinks. Neither Aubrey nor Annabeth is here. I don't know why I expected them to be.
Apparently Percy and I think alike, because he ignores Leo's entire story and says, "Where's Annabeth?"
"Yeah, about that… she's still in trouble, we think. Hurt, broken leg, maybe– at least according to this vision Gaea showed us. Rescuing her is our next stop. And uh…" He turns to look at me. "Aubrey was with her."
The feeling I get is indescribable. It's beyond relief and joy.
Percy feels the same way, apparently, because his green eyes lose the gloom that had set in since parting with Annabeth. "Tell me about the vision. Tell me everything."
The floor shakes and the wooden planks begin to disappear.
"Let's talk on board," Hazel suggests. "We'd better take off while we can."
When we climb on board, it occurs to me that Annabeth and Aubrey are both part of Percy's family. Two of the people he loves and will love most are still in danger.
I can see the worry etched in his eyes.
I vow silently to help him get his family back, at all costs.
~~~Aubrey Sally Jackson~~~
I HAVE POSSIBLY THE WORST LUCK EVER.
I scramble, my hands becoming bloody as I grasp for a handhold as I fall.
When my fingers catch onto a small ledge, I cry out as I'm yanked to a halt, then slammed into the side of the chasm.
Hanging there, unable to see as I hold onto my life by my fingertips– literally– I decide that dying actually seems like a good option. Even if I climbed up and managed to get to the top, there are millions, maybe billions of spiders up there.
And who knows how far I'd fallen?
I couldn't even see light.
My fingers ache, slipping. Desperately, I claw my raw, bloody fingers on the rock and dirt for a second handhold. I find one, but it's so far to the right that I'm now hanging, gasping, with my hands spread uncomfortably wide apart.
Faintly, I hear a yell, which might be my name, but from above or below I can't tell. The sweat on my fingers is making them slip, and I wonder how I even held on this long. My feet dangle in open air and with some effort I pull them towards the wall, looking for footholds.
I used to rock climb with Lucas all the time, but nothing like this. I was always strapped in with a harness; I was always safe. Anything I did now would most likely end in my own death. And possibly, if Annabeth or Percy dies, I'll just cease to exist and it won't matter.
But suddenly, the thought of not existing wakes me up.
No, dying isn't an option. I have to make sure I get up there, and I have to make sure Annabeth is safe. To me, living a little bit is better than never living at all. Another yell so faint it might be my imagination echoes through the chasm.
Gritting my teeth, I find a foothold for my right foot, and relax slightly. I beg the gods that Annabeth moved on. That she escaped the spiders.
At the thought of the black waves of them, I shudder, thinking they could come down into the chasm at me.
No, Aubrey, I command myself. Happy thoughts. Do not think about your screaming limbs, or aching back, or the spiders or– no! Think about happy things!
If you've ever tried to do something difficult and think happy thoughts, you'll know it's very hard.
However, as I reach around above my head for something new to hold on to, I try to recall good memories, with the people I love.
First, a memory at the beach with my family comes to mind. My dad would play tag with me and Lucas when we were little, and I remember one time, Mom put seaweed on top of Dad's head, announcing him an official "Seaweed Brain."
I find a handhold, but it's so far I have to stretch.
Gasping with the fear of falling, I bring my trembling left leg up to take the place of my left hand.
I continue this for a long time, long past when my limbs went numb.
It becomes a rhythm, mindless.
I don't check to see if I'm any closer to the top, because I know I fell so far it's possible I won't be able to climb back up. It all is good and jolly for a while, after I've gotten sort of used to the climbing. My rhythm of hand, now foot, now hand, now foot…
Finally, I glance up and spot something above me.
In the extremely dim light, I see something, like two poles, arching over the chasm above me. I reach out for another handhold, but I don't find one.
No, no, no, I think, running my weak fingers on the stone for something to hold onto. Not now, not when I can see the top.
But I find nothing. Not a single ledge or rock. It was perfectly smooth for the last ten or so feet up to the top. I almost let go now. I almost give up.
It seems like too much of a punishment to die now, when I'm so close, when I can see my goal, but can't get it.
It's not fair… not fair…
My throat is dry, and I'm numb and in pain at the same time. I can feel my fingers slipping, but I don't attempt to stop them like I did the hundreds of time coming up here.
My throat is burning… I need… water…
Unexpectedly, I feel a tug in my gut and suddenly I'm surrounded by cold, refreshing water. It sends a rush of energy through me, and the water is… dragging me up? I get pulled over the edge and onto the ground.
As fast as I can, I roll away from the edge, onto my stomach, and literally hug the ground. My heart is beating and I just can't move. I don't have the strength. Or motivation.
The water disappears and my energy fades.
Come on, I tell myself weakly. Aubrey, you got to get up. Go find Annabeth.
This is the same sort of pep talk I used to give myself before I got out of bed for school, I realize with the weakest of smiles. I roll over onto my back and I land on something. With a lot of effort, I turn my head to look at what it is.
It's a zip-lock bag of ambrosia. Annabeth.
Almost crying with relief, I manage to make my shaking, ruined hands tear open the bag and dump some into my mouth.
They taste like burned brownies.
The thought of my brother just about nearly makes me cry, but I don't; not yet. My aching limbs lessen ever slightly and my fingers and feet recover some of their strength. I manage to sit up, and see that I'm still on the wrong side of the chasm.
All that and I still gotta get across a fifty-foot chasm.
Yay. I really wanted that. More work.
I survey the area, and I find no spiders, pretty much no light, and no Annabeth. Calling out for her wouldn't work. She continued on without me, which is good. I look at the two poles that lead over the chasm, and I see there are notches in them, like for a loom.
Is this how Annabeth got across?
I reach out, careful not to lean over the chasm (falling again is not an option), and touch one of the poles. I flinch back as a bridge woven of colorful sting appears. I hesitantly poke it, not very willing to test my weight on it and fall again, but seeing no other choice.
I carefully begin to crawl across, and it holds. Thank the gods.
When I get across, I collapse on the ground yet again, overwhelmingly relieved to be alive. With a sigh, I crawl a ways away from the chasm, before clamoring to my feet. Leaning against the wall for support, I gasp for air, which I can't seem to get enough of.
Slowly, but surely, I start to make my way down the corridor.
Twenty feet later, I find myself in a cavern the size of a cathedral, with a fallen-in ceiling and cracks zig-zaging across the floor. The sunlight blinds me, as there is no ceiling.
A fifty-foot statue stands at the far end of the room and a demigod ship hovers above. I gaze across the cavern, with no kind of energy to call out. All my friends are gathered around Annabeth, who was talking.
I stand, watching them, leaning the majority of my weight against the wall.
Yell, I tell myself weakly. Just one shout and you'll be safe. They'll come get you and you'll be alright again. But my mouth is sealed shut. I watch from a distance as Annabeth begins to cry, and I see Zach stumble backwards, a scream of fury ripping from his throat.
Could they be talking about me?
As I watch, I realize that I got so close. I'm right here, not a hundred yards from my friends, and I can't say a word. I see Percy, my dad, bow his head and I realize he's crying, an arm around Annabeth. Zach has fallen to his knees. Hazel and Frank hug each other, mourning. Jason and Piper hold hands and also bow their heads.
I almost laugh, because I'm so tired and half-dead, and it's almost funny to me, that I'm watching my own funeral. Only Leo, who doesn't have someone to lean on, is looking around. I almost die with relief when his eyes lock with mine.
He begins shouting, and everyone looks up at they see me. Finally hoping I'm saved, I fall to my knees. Zach is suddenly there, quite literally tackling me. He's crying, his whole body shuddering, as he wraps his arms around me, squeezing me so tight I can't breathe. But for once, I don't care.
After a moment, Zach stands and pulls me up. "Don't you ever do that again!" he orders me. He pulls me into his arms again, crying. He pulls away, before swinging me into his arms. I don't have the ability to protest.
He flies me over the cracking floor to the other demigods. He sets me down gently, and I am immediately ambushed by someone else. Annabeth.
Her arms wrap around me and she hugs me as hard as Zach did. She pulls away and I see she's been crying, too. "How the Hades are you alive, Aubrey?" she sobs.
In answer, I drag my destroyed fingers and hands in front of me, and she gasps. They're a nasty sight. I'm pretty sure my skin got peeled off, and they are covered in a layer of blood.
"Gods, Aubrey." Annabeth pulls me into another hug. In my ear, she whispers, "I thought I lost my daughter."
That is enough to make me cry. After another moment, she pulls away, and Hazel throws her arms around me. After her, Piper continues the cycle.
"You two are completely amazing," Percy says, shaking his head, pride shining in his eyes.
Annabeth and I exchange a look. She seems suddenly panicked, embarrassed, but final.
The message is clear. We have to tell Percy.
"Um," my voice comes out raw and scratched, like my throat. "Percy, I should probably tell you something."
Percy looks confused, and I turn and look at Zach. He sees my expression and alarm crosses his features. "Wait, Aubrey," Zach interrupts. "Is it really necessary for him to know now?"
Leo perks up. "Wait, we're going to tell him? I need to get my camera, hold on!"
"Wait, what's going on?" Piper asks. She's exhausted but there's no clouding her curiosity.
Annabeth flushes a dark red, and looks at me helplessly. "You explain, Aubrey. I don't think I can." Her head drops into her hands, as if she was trying to hide herself.
"Um," I say, suddenly fearful as I look up at Percy. "I, uh…" I gulp. Percy just looks confused, like he's trying to figure out what's going on. "So, um, Percy," I say, nerves tearing me apart. "Hi, um… I'm, uh…"
I felt Zach's hand slip into mine and squeeze.
"Wait, I still haven't gotten my camera!" Leo cries, pointing towards the Argo II.
"Shut it, Valdez," Percy says, though he doesn't sound angry. "What is it, guys?" He looks curious and kind of ticked off. "What's going on?"
"I'm…your…," my voice is shaking, and so are my injured hands. I take a deep breath. "I'm your daughter."
Then I wince, because it's out in the open, and everyone's watching me. Of course, only Piper, Jason, and Percy didn't know at this point, but still…
Percy's face goes completely blank. "Um, what?" he shakes his head, giving a small, emotionless laugh. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you right?" It sounds like a question.
I feel my tears come yet again. Despite my attempts to keep from crying, a tear slips down my cheek. "You heard me."
Percy looks around, almost desperately, but I can tell by his eyes he's waiting, hoping we're going to start laughing, and that this is all a prank.
"So…" Percy's voice shakes more than mine did, and he's trembling, looking from me to Annabeth, who's so red it's probably unhealthy. "Let me… get this straight…" His hands are shaking, so he stuffs them in his pockets. "I… and somebody else… had you when I was–" he counts on his fingers for a second, "–like three?" his voice is strangled.
"Of course not!" I say, hurriedly, and he seems relieved. His relief lasts about a second before I say, "I'm from the future."
Percy stares at me not moving, not seeming to breathe. "So I'm stuck in a Sci-Fi movie?"
"Um, no," I say. "I was sent here by somebody; not sure who, actually."
Percy ran his hands through his hair, digging his fingers into the roots and holding on, walking in circles, hyperventilating.
"Percy?" Annabeth says quietly.
He spins to look at Annabeth. "Wait, so you're telling me I'm married to you in the future," then he swivels to look at me, "and you're my daughter?"
"Yeah," I manage.
Percy looks, in short, overwhelmed. He's breathing like he ran a marathon and he doesn't seem to know what to do with his shaking hands. He'll run them through his hair, put them in his pockets, wring them together.
"Gods," he mutters over and over again. "Gods, gods gods…" He paces back and forth, not looking at anyone. Then he freezes and looks at me. "Wait, you're my daughter?" he actually sounds curious now.
"Uh, yeah," I say, like it's obvious. We already said it quite a few times.
"So, we win the giant war?!" Percy asks.
I try to hide the hurt that that's all he sees me as. Because, after all, he's a teenage boy, and they don't know how to react if you tell them they suddenly have a kid, apparently.
"Yeah," I say. "I guess?"
"Wait, so–" I can tell he's about to ask me a billion questions about the future, but he's interrupted by Jason.
"Who's Zach, then?"
We all turn to look at Zach, who goes pale. The color leaves his face in three seconds flat. I'm impressed. Zach pinches the bridge of his nose. "It's not really that hard a guess, is it?"
Jason and Piper glance at each other, then at Zach. They kind of both look like they're in shock.
"Guys," Leo says suddenly. "Not to interrupt this family reunion, but uh, we'd better get out of here."
Percy looks uneasily at me, then Annabeth. Under his breath, I hear him mutter: "Holy Hera, I have a frickin' daughter." (Just so you know, he, in fact, did not say "frickin". He said something else, but I'm sure you can figure out what he said.)
His face suddenly becomes as red as Annabeth's, as he undoubtedly thought about the way that I was created. I try to resist throwing up and turn away. Jason and Piper seem to recover from their shock much quicker than Percy did, snapping into the future to face the problem at hand.
The chamber groans, the giant statue tilting to one side. The floor is crumbling.
"Secure it!" Annabeth cries.
Immediately, Leo barks an order to Frank and he becomes a giant eagle to get them up to the ship. Jason wraps an arm around Piper. He turns to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He shoots into the air.
"This floor won't last!" Hazel warns. "The rest of us should get to the ladder."
Hazel lunges for the bottom of the rope latter, and gestures for Nico to follow, but the poor guy is in no condition to sprint.
"Zach," I begin suggesting he should fly us. "Can you–"
"No," he apologizes. "If I do, I'll probably explode."
Percy kneels next to Annabeth, awkwardness forgotten, gripping her hand tight. "It'll be fine," I hear him mutter to her.
Zach helps me up, but we're both weak. Leaning on each other, we get ready to start hobbling to the Argo II. A gasp comes from Annabeth and she stumbles.
"What is it?" Percy asks.
She looks like she's trying to go forward, but she's being dragged backward instead. Suddenly she pitches forward, her legs sweeping out from under her, and she falls on her face.
"Her ankle!" Hazel shrieks from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"
Cut her ankle?
Annabeth is yanked backward by something, and Percy lunges for her. Instead of stopping them, he's dragged along with her.
Desperate to save my family, I jump away from Zach and sprint towards the duo. Zach calls after me, but I don't notice. I don't see teenagers getting dragged towards the pit. I see my mom and my dad.
I reach them and grab onto Annabeth's hand as well, pulling backwards while I feel the tears sting at my eyes. "No," I whimper, pulling uselessly, but getting dragged forward none the less. "I can't… I can't lose you guys…"
We're inches from the pit when I feel a tug on my arm and my already-weak grip breaks.
Percy and Annabeth slip over the edge.
"No!" I shriek, diving forward.
I look over the edge. About fifteen feet below us, they hang, Percy holding on to a small ledge with one hand, and his other wrapped around Annabeth's wrist.
"Mom!" I wail, my cry ripping from my hoarse throat. "Dad!"
Nico is next to us now, leaning over and thrusting out his hand, but it's useless. Zach's next to me, getting ready to try and summon the winds. But I see that he's much too tired. He can't do it.
True, raw fear fills my bones.
"Percy, let me go," Annabeth croaks. "You can't pull me up."
"Never," Percy says. He looks up at Nico. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"
Nico's eyes widen. "But–"
"Lead them there!" Percy shouts, his face white with effort. "Promise me!"
"I-I will."
A voice laughs down in the darkness.
Percy looks up and meets my eyes. Our twin green eyes lock, and I can see tears in his. "Aubrey… I hope you get home safe. I'm glad you're my daughter."
I let out a sob. "Daddy," I whisper.
He looks down at Annabeth "We're staying together," he says to her. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."
"As long as we're together," Annabeth replies.
Then Percy let's go.
And I make my mistake that changes my life forever.
"NO!" the scream wrenches from my throat unlike anything I'd ever done before and I lunge forward, forgetting, stupidly, that there's a pit there, Aubrey!
"Aubrey!" Zach snatches for me, but gets thin air.
I plummet downwards, and it's much different from before. It's too far from the wall to even attempt to climb back up. But I don't want to. I want to be with my family.
I look upwards at the fading sunlight, and I see a black dot falling towards me.
"Zach!" I scream with my last bit of energy. "You are an idiot!"
WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THE FACT THAT I'M EVIL, OF COURSE.
but not as evil as Uncle Rick, god of trolls. you probably have to wait two weeks MAXIMUM for the next chapter. Rick made us wait a year.
A YEAR!
I LOVE YOU GUYS. I'M GOING TO GO WATCH YOUTUBE NOW. WHO'S WITH ME?
btw if anyone figures out the Teen Wolf reference in this chapter i will love you forever