Guys, I'm eating an apple again. This is so weird. Always while I'm writing this fanfic, I'll just suddenly want an apple. I don't think that's normal.
Carrot Seven (guest): How'd your grasshopper autopsy go? :) I had to dissect a frog in Biology a bit ago, and we had to rip out the organs and line them up on a piece of paper. But my partner and I were both having trouble with that, and one of the guys in our class came over and basically ripped the frog apart with his bare hands. Then he proceeded to eat potato chips...WITHOUT WASHING HIS HANDS. Yeah, it was gross.
Divergent-R-Us (guest): You know, you could probably find some very useful stuff at Medea's mall...
BunnyBo: PM me, and I'll help you with it the best I can.
Nobilist: I've wondered that too. But unfortunately, they don't have anything to numb the pain, so they had to do it that way. Ickiness.
Percy Jason (guest): Well, here's Annabeth, then Percy, Frank, Leo, Nico, Reyna, Nico...I could continue, but you only asked for five, and I gave you six, so...Oh, yeah, and the whole Leo in a dress thing is quite probably going to happen, although it might not be too soon. Just look out for it, 'kay?
letskilloctevian: I'm glad you started reviewing again! You probably aren't on this chapter yet, but I'll put this here anyway as a nice surprise when you do get here...
Guest (guest): Yes, I've been getting your reviews. Although I think there are multiple people called 'Guest' reviewing...you know you can put a name, right? Makes it less confusing.
Llew444: Aww, thanks. It's appreciated. I'm almost there; only four reviews away. And if I don't get that by tonight, I'm just going to be kind of bemused, because I usually get more like ten in a few hours.
themiah06: All will be revealed...in time...:)
Me (guest): Oh my gods, I'm going to start calling everyone laughy taffy giggle box. That's awesome. And don't worry, I've done weirder stuff with my friends. But I don't think I'll elaborate, 'cuz that would just scare everyone. :D
Aliana (guest): Just imagine his face when he finds out. He'll totally be freaking, and scolding Annabeth for being reckless, etcetera, etcetera. The tables will totally be turned, and Annabeth would just be there with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes.
RMS Titanic (guest): I think your sister forgot to put her name on her review. But anyways, I'm actually reading a camp half blood reads the tartarus chapters fic right now-I don't know if they're the same ones, but it is really good. I love it.
Cherries (guest): Frank is coming soon. As for everything else...wait and see. :)
Apollo101 (guest): Aww, thanks. So sweet. And I'm not planning on ever stopping writing, so no worries there.
Megan Stark (guest): That's okay. And I've gotten mixed things about last chapter...some liked the gory detail, some would have rathered I'd been a little more vague. I think I made a few people queasy. But that's okay! The power of writing is infinite!
Hello (guest): Feeling rainbowy is awesome. More people should try to feel rainbowy. And thank you!
NightFuryDude101 (guest): Haven't seen you in a while. Thanks for reviewing! And yeah, I can't wait for that chapter either. To write it, I mean. And see everyone's reviews.
cam70300 (guest): France, really? I'm taking French right now, but the only thing I'm particularly good at is the accent. :)
Chapter LXIV
Annabeth
Annabeth decides to just go right on ahead and hate the goddess of love. She's already made Annabeth's love life a complete mess, and now she has the audacity to interrupt her dreams? How rude is that?
"What do you want?" She asks rudely, crossing her arms.
"Hostility is not a very attractive quality, my dear." Aphrodite tsks, shaking her head. She's browsing through a clothing rack full of sparkly, fluffy, girly clothes that Annabeth wouldn't be caught dead in.
Annabeth looks around, realizing she's in what looks like a department store-but an extremely beautiful store. A stained glass dome soars hundreds of feet above her head, supported by sparkling white marble arches edged with gold leaf. Wide, graceful marble steps lead up to a second floor, and archways lead out to what Annabeth assumes are different sections of the store.
Despite herself, Annabeth can't help but be amazed by the architectural detail of the building. "Where are we?" She asks.
Aphrodite looks up and glances around, a thoughtful look on her face. "I have no idea. Beautiful, though, isn't it?"
"Very." Annabeth agrees. Then she wrinkles her nose at the thought that she agrees with the goddess on anything. Aphrodite notices and waves her hand.
"Oh, stop that. I'm not the most horrible goddess in the world, you know." She says.
As much as Annabeth hates to admit it, she agrees with her once again-there are plenty of goddesses worse than her. Hera, for example.
"Why did you bring me here?" She asks.
"Why, to talk about your love life, of course! Hadn't you guessed?" Aphrodite exclaims, her voice bubbly and overly bright.
"Yes." Annabeth replies. "But I was hoping I was wrong."
"Oh, come now, don't be like that. Lots of girls would by dying to get relationship advice from the goddess of love herself." Aphrodite tells her.
"Good." Annabeth answers. "You can go talk to one of them."
"But they don't have a love life near as interesting as yours, my dear!" Aphrodite explains. "Besides, I'm already talking to two other girls right now." She wrinkles her nose. "My daughter really doesn't appreciate my advice, for some reason."
"You...You're talking to Piper? And Hazel?" Annabeth asks, her head spinning in confusion.
"Well, of course. I can't just ignore them; they have such wonderful stories as well." Aphrodite says.
Thinking about how the goddess could be in three places at once is giving Annabeth a headache, so she decides not to dwell on it.
"Are you ever going to tell me why you're really here? Or are you just going to make small talk until I wake up?" She asks, crossing her arms again.
"I know you're upset at me for interrupting your dream, dear-really, your other one was so much more pleasant-but try not to scowl so much, it'll give you frown lines." Annabeth shifts uncomfortably, her cheeks coloring as she remembers her dream-well, memory, actually. She'd been reliving her first real kiss with Percy, when Clarisse and the other campers had thrown them into the canoe lake and Percy had created an air bubble at the bottom.
Thinking about it now, she's a little confused-it's one of the first times she's dreamed something pleasant since Tartarus. Not that she's complaining.
Aphrodite turns from the clothing rack and finally faces Annabeth. Her ever-changing features make it hard to focus on her face, but Annabeth does it anyway, determined to get their little 'talk' over with as soon as possible.
"Actually, my dear, I haven't come just to chat, I'm afraid." She tells Annabeth.
"You don't say." Annabeth replies sarcastically.
"Or to give you advice about your love life-you don't really need it anyway. Last night? Dancing under the stars? So romantic!" The goddess of love squeals excitedly.
Annabeth blushes slightly, but she's more angry than embarassed. "You had no right to be watching that! It's none of your business!" She protests hotly, glaring at the goddess.
"On the contrary, my dear, love very much is my business." Aphrodite corrects her. "But as I was saying, your love life isn't why I'm here."
"Then why are you?" Annabeth asks, still glaring.
"I'm here to warn you." Aphrodite answers, suddenly serious.
"About what?" Annabeth says warily.
"Well, Percy-you know, your boyfriend-" The goddess starts.
"Best friends since we were twelve, soulmates, love of my life? Yeah, I think I remember." Annabeth rolls her eyes.
"Don't be sarcastic, it's unbecoming." Aphrodite scolds. "Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, the warning." Her eyes become uncharacteristically serious, and her voice, when she starts speaking again, is grim. "Percy has a hard task ahead of him on August 1-one that he might not survive."
Annabeth stares blankly at the goddess-and then she registers her words.
She feels like she's been body-slammed by a ten ton elephant-or had her heart slammed by a sledgehammer. She opens her mouth to asks what Aphrodite means, but her voice doesn't work.
"But before that, he'll face a choice-one that will once again tip the balance between triumph and failure, victory and defeat. Honestly, that boy seems to attract world-altering choices like a magnet. Prophecies as well." The goddess adds thoughtfully.
"What do you mean, he might not survive?" Annabeth finally manages to say, ignoring the goddess' last words.
"Well, obviously, I mean he might not live through it. But don't worry, there's still a chance that he will, even if it's small." Aphrodite smiles kindly, obviously thinking that she's helping Annabeth by telling her.
"Percy can't die! He won't; I won't let him!" Annabeth shouts, starting to pace across the room the way she always does when she's scared or nervous-or both.
"I don't think it's really a question of letting him or not, my dear-if the Fates decree it, there's nothing you or he can do to stop it." Aphrodite comments.
Annabeth whirls on her angrily. "All you stupid gods; that's all you can talk about, isn't it? Fate and destiny, and how unchangeable, how set in stone they are!" She spits at her. "Well, you know what I say? Screw you!" She screams, her voice echoing through the domed room. Aphrodite's eyes widen in shock at being addressed in such a way, but Annabeth doesn't care. She stomps away furiously, with no idea where she's going, only knowing that she has to try to get away from the goddess-even if she might not be able to in a dream.
"You're distraught, my dear, and understandably so, but that's no excuse to scream at a goddess." Aphrodite says, appearing in front of her. "Especially when I'm just trying to help you."
Annabeth throws up her hands in exasperation. "What if I don't want your help?!"
Aphrodite blinks. "Trust me, Annabeth, I don't want Percy to die any more than you do. I've grown fond of him over the years; he's had quite a hard life. And he has as good as a story as you do, if not better. But warning you is the best I can do."
"You're a goddess! What do you mean, that's the best you can do?" Annabeth asks vehemently.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was to sneak into your dream undetected? If Zeus knew I was here, you have no idea how upset he'd be. Really, he's being such a child, acting the way he is. But I did it anyway, because, despite everything I've learned over the years, I've grown fond of all of you. Do you know how hard it is to watch those you favor die in tragic, horrible, nasty ways, millenia after millenia, century after century? Well, after a while, you learn better than to directly involve yourself with the affairs of demigods! But no, I just had to get involved with Percy, because I admired how much he cared for you! Even before you started dating, when you were kidnapped, he was so upset! And I thought, 'I haven't seen something like that in ages. Surely it can't hurt to help him along a bit?' And that just opened up a whole new host of problems!" Aphrodite continues ranting, but Annabeth just stands back, lost in her thoughts.
Percy can't die. He doesn't deserve to die, not after he's been through so much. After we've both been through so much. And I wouldn't be able to live without him. I need him. She can feel hysteria rising up in her mind, and she tries to calm herself by breathing deeply, but she just ends up hyperventilating.
"He can't die." She whimpers, sounding pathetic even to herself. "He just can't."
Aphrodite stops ranting and looks down at her again, but Annabeth barely notices.
She's too busy struggling with herself, trying to pull herself together before she falls apart completely. She attempts to think about Aphrodite's warning rationally, but every time she even gets close to thinking about Percy's dying, she breaks a little more. When she thinks about life without him, she starts crying, no matter how hard she tries to hold back the tears.
Aphrodite's expression softens, and she looks at Annabeth sympathetically. She waves her hand, and a cushy pink couch appears. She guides Annabeth over to it and then sits down next to her, and as much as Annabeth hates the goddess for telling her that Percy might not live past the end of the month, she can't help but feel a small surge of gratitude.
"There, there, dear. I know, sweetheart, but try and remember, it's very possible he'll survive. He's surprised us so many times before. Really, his skills at evading death are uncanny, although he's still been caused plenty of pain." Aphrodite reassures her, patting Annabeth's back in a comforting way. She hands her a handkerchief, and Annabeth uses it to wipe her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that it's a bright, noxious pink.
"I'm sorry." She says when she's finally calmed down. "It's just...the thought of living without him..." She chokes on the lump in her throat, and squeezes her eyes shut, causing a single tear to fall onto her lap.
"I understand that. I'm the goddess of love, after all. But you can't let yourself fall apart. Don't let yourself believe he won't survive-believing in something gives it power. Instead, do everything in your power to keep him alive-and remember, without you, he wouldn't be here right now. You've already saved him numerous times. You've had a lot of practice keeping him alive. This shouldn't be any different, right?" Aphrodite tells her kindly.
Annabeth doesn't know how much of that the goddess actually means, and how much is just an attempt to keep her from screaming or crying again, but she's grateful nonetheless. Because either way, Aphrodite makes a valid point.
She straightens up and stares fiercely at the wall, gathering her determination. "You're right. I can't let myself fall apart, not now." She looks at Aphrodite, and for once, she's able to concentrate on the goddess' features. "I'm going to help him however I can. And I'm going to keep him alive."
"That's the spirit, my dear." Aphrodite says, her voice echoing strangely, and Annabeth realizes her dream is fading, swirling away. Even as she watches, Aphrodite starts to disappear, along with the beautiful department store. "But don't forget to make the most of your time-life is too short not to."
And then her voice is gone, too, and the dream spins into darkness.
Creepy Dream Visit From Aphrodite: Check.
Not even kidding, people, this chapter was legitly on my to do list for this fanfic. I like how it turned out, but the audience are the final judges...how'd you like it?
I love you, don't get stung by a scorpion, stay far away from the Myrmekes, and don't ever forget Beckendorf and Silena's awesomeness!