XXXIX

Annabeth

(A/N: Someday, I'll think about putting my author's notes above the chapter title. Anyways, here is chapter 39! On some news: Nico arc is coming to a close in 2 chapters. Strange? Not really. Search up Carcassone. Then calculate the distance from there to Lisbon. Second, I am soooo excited for the future of the Percy portion of the story. Maybe, or maybe not, in the way that you think. Third, I calculated that I have 21 chapters to write in 27 days. Should be manageable. Can't tell you the exact details, but yeah. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I am spending way too much time on author's notes and not enough time on actually writing! So yeah, enjoy!)

Annabeth didn't need to know how a worm's belly felt like. On the plus side, it essentially was a long, long tube, so it wasn't like she was getting lost. Plus, she noted that most monsters seemed to like to swallow things whole.

She kept falling down the long gullet. Suddenly, the entire tunnel tilted to one side. The worm had dived back down to the bottom of the river. Strong muscles on the sides of the gullet kept her from falling back into the mouth. They kept pushing her up, slowly forcing her into the stomach. Luckily, worms' stomachs are pretty small. As she rose into the stomach, she closed her eyes, expecting to get drenched by the worm's digestive juices. But strangely, they never came.

When she squinted her eyes open, she saw Percy lifting the juices above his head, holding it like a giant water balloon.

When he saw Annabeth, he grinned. "Hey, you came over!" he lifted the giant bubble of liquids higher, trying not to let any of it drip. Unfortunately, a drip of it fell straight onto a torn part of Annabeth's t-shirt. In an instant, the shirt fizzled and disintegrated.

Percy was standing on the side of the worm's belly, holding onto some of the protrusions for support. The air was hot, sticky and Annabeth was starting to feel a little faint. There wasn't much carbon dioxide in this room, even if it was the size of a bathroom. With two people in here, it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

Annabeth also understood why Percy hadn't just pressed the acid against the throat. Not only was it protected by a giant flap, which would have protected against the acids and stopped acid from getting through to the other side, he would also have hit Annabeth. Sending the acid up wasn't an option either, because of the giant flap that blocked the entrance to the intestines.

Annabeth forced herself to calm down, slow her breathing. "Percy!" she yelled. "Slow your breathing. We need to conserve as much oxygen as possible!" Percy did so. "All right." She said. "I have a plan, but it's going to take a long time. So you'd better be prepared to hold that ball for a long time."

She took out her sword and started hacking at the thick skin, trying to gash out as much flesh as possible. Unfortunately, this monster was too big to kill in one slash. She had to keep slashing against the skin.

The heat was intense; she started to sweat profusely. Don't breathe faster, don't breathe faster, she would constantly remind herself. After she had gotten a gash in the side of the worm, she felt the belly rumble. The worm suddenly changed direction, and shot straight up towards the surface, completely reversing Annabeth and Percy. Percy nearly lost his grip on the fluids, but he didn't, luckily, but Annabeth's original mark was now on the top. Annabeth didn't waste any time, and immediately started hacking at the stomach, carving out at much flesh as she could possibly get in one go. The stomach rumbled again, this time turning over so much it was insane.

The stomach flipped over, and over again, so fast that Annabeth could start falling, then fall down on the exact same spot she had fallen off.

Percy could only barely keep the ball of acid from falling straight onto them. It wobbled, and bits of it were flung everywhere- it was a miracle that Annabeth hadn't been hit. "Percy!" she yelled, her glasses foggy. It was getting too hot, and oxygen was running out. "Now!"

Percy shoved the ball of gastric acids straight at the deeper cut that Annabeth had made- the first one. Immediately, the acid started to eat away at the skin. The stomach bucked harder, rolling in every direction, almost like a washing machine. Annabeth only had just enough time to avoid the general area where the acid was eating away at the monster's flesh.

This went on for the next minute. Finally, Percy yelled over the sloshing, "I think we've broken out of the skin! I think it'll be possible to force the acid out-" as he said this, the acid rushed out of the stomach. Beyond the sizeable slit that had been carved out, Annabeth saw dark, murky water. She'd never noticed it, but the monster's belly glowed in a strange, red light.

Water rushed in, slowly at first. But Percy kept pushing the acid against the worm's skin, and he got the hole twice as large. Percy waved his hands, the water poured in, and Percy encased them in a bubble.

Annabeth was completely dry. The bubble was covered in a tiny film. Beyond that, Annabeth could see the dark, murky water full of dark shadows- monsters, Annabeth presumed, because no regular fish would have been able to live in such a dirty environment.

Finally, they burst out from the river, Annabeth still dry for some reason. They landed on the opposite side that they'd come from, a good five feet from the water's edge. Percy stared down into the water. Annabeth realized that he was searching for the worm.

They had to kill it. Escaping from the belly wasn't enough. Suddenly, the river exploded- the worm had breached the surface; it was flailing wildly in pain. Percy lifted his hand, summoning the water to do his bidding.

"You won't like this," he said. "Look away."

Annabeth didn't.

He formed the water into sharp, piercing daggers that now stood in the air, pointed straight at the worm. Percy released them all at once, and the worm dissipated into dust.

"Well, that was slightly harder," Percy commented. "Not as bad as Tartarus."

"Tartarus?" a voice came from behind them. Surprised, both Percy and Annabeth turned around. Not surprisingly, Chronus was there, staring at them intently. "You would do well to show the gods some respect, Perseus Jackson. For my final test, I was going to make you do something simple, like buy a shirt for me, or get me a pair of slippers from the nearest garbage dump." He pointed to a giant pile of trash just inland. "But I've decided to give you something worse- something to test your mettle. For your final task, you must defeat the Neades."

Annabeth had no idea what monster that was. "I assume they're Greek monsters?" she asked. Chronos just sighed and shook his head. "Perhaps it would be better if I just got you to Samos and got it over with. Good luck, and when you are finished with this task, then I will tell you where the final Anchor is."

He waved his hand, and the world flashed around them.