"Thanks a lot, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth huffed skirting around the side of a rundown warehouse as she attempted to lower her heart rate to something other than a fearful tattoo against her ribs. Not that this was in any way Percy's fault but just saying her nickname for him was already relaxing her tensed muscles.
She was a daughter of Athena for the gods sake. She'd already survived too much in her life to go out like….this.
The heavy clicking of what could be mistaken for paws draws closer to where she'd hide.
The true monsters were getting clever in their own right no mistaking that. This one having adopted the mask of an injured owlet seemed to have fallen from its nest during the night when Annabeth had foolishly now thought to take a shortcut through a nature park on her way to meet Percy for his lunch break that afternoon.
The now obvious disguise having been adopted to draw her attention from the newest architecture book Percy had gifted her before he'd headed out the door that morning after his usual departing teasing of "Don't work too hard Wise Girl." As he'd dropped a kiss against her head.
It was only after she'd laid that first mistaken hand against the pitiful animal's side that Annabeth realized her mistake.
"Mother. Help me." She begged making another appraising look around the side of her hiding spot just in time to catch what it was that was now hunting her.
Rationally she knew this was just another clever trick of this newest threat to her very existence. That this monster was praying on her deepest fears to throw her off her game. To make her weak. Make her an easy target to take out. Yet with all this knowledge, that didn't take away the new waves of utter panic when she watches the newest change settling over her pursuer's body.
What had Sally called them during the last Jackson family movie night?
Acroman- somethings?
At the time Annabeth hadn't understood why Percy had been against it once he'd seen the title of the film his mother had chosen.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
But Annabeth had been curious about it after she'd seen the brilliance of what she knew later to be the third film in the series Prisoner of Azkaban. So, she'd overridden his misgivings and agreed to watch it. "The serpent is another symbol of my mother Jackson. We're watching this." She'd decided earning a proud half-smile from Sally who'd just come back from receiving a fresh bowl of popcorn.
I can sssmmmeeelll your fear. The monster taunts as Annabeth edges farther away from its advances. Makes you all the sweeter for when I kill you.
Guess this is what happens when I wanna go visit my boyfriend on his lunch break so close to Halloween. Annabeth scolds herself jamming her battered Yanks hat onto her head as she ran in a zig-zag up the side street then back down another in an attempt to put some distance between herself and whatever it was that had been sent to attack her.
She pauses taking a long moment to slip the bronzed dagger out of the sheath at her ankle needing the reassurance of the weapon against her palm to fight off another stab of weakening fear backed by the not-so-helpful cracking of thunder overhead.
Annabeth only prayed that the threat of a thunderstorm meant that Zeus would be so angered by her apparent skipping out on that day's Olympus rebuilding that he'd send someone down to search her out.
No one is coming for you, demigod.
Rather than stand there wallowing in the untruths of the monster's words, Annabeth's eyes cast around in appraisal until a flash of something black and orange caught her attention in the form of an 'Opening Soon' notice tacked onto the front window of a nearby store.
"What in the god's names is a Spirit Store?" Annabeth wonders aloud to herself "Must be one of Hade's new ideas." She shrugs off almost as soon as the first question solidifies in her mind once she gets a better look at the hooded skeleton depicted with the shop name.
"There you are."
Annabeth quickly dodges one of the stabbing legs of her pursuers spider-embodied self as she lashes out with calculated swipes with her dagger-fisted hand at the others.
The whining scream signaling several of her attacks hit their marks before Annabeth makes a hurried dash towards the haven of the in-progress shop front.
One hard kicking of her sneaker clade heel against the shop's side door and Annabeth was rushing inside amid a rain of splintering wood with a limping fear drove something close behind her only to be hampered by Annabeth kicking the door closed behind her before the thing could cross the threshold.
"Gotta remember to thank Tyson for the strength training refreshers." She groaned to herself leaning gratefully against a half-assembled rack to catch her breath after pushing a heavy shelving display in front of the already shuddering door as her pursuer tried to follow her.
Do you really think a few primitive barriers will save you? Then you're no child of Athena.
The fear was back again stronger this time as Annabeth struggled against it.
Her knife had been lost in the frenzied dash from the alleyway. The monster playing on her mind had turned the innocent splashes of rainwater into something far more uncomfortable to handle as they'd struggled making her drop her last line of defense against her multilegged attacker.
But if I was so easily fooled once, how can I be sure I won't be again? The panting demigod wondered. "No." Annabeth growled aloud having spotted her salvation sitting so innocently among a half-finished shelf across from where she'd wandered in, her fear of every shadow and tiny sound of movement in the empty shop. No Halloween was designed to make people succumb to fear.
But she was different. She wasn't just some mortal. She was a demigod.
She was a daughter of Athena.
A surge of remembered safety chased away some of her fears as her hand closed in reassurance around the hammer's handle. The weight was only a little offset by the jarring of other tools tucked inside the tool kit casing but Annabeth easily adapted to the uneven feeling. She lifts it fully from the floor, already hearing Sally's teasing voice inside her head. You lifted Mjolnir, Annabeth, if you can do that you can do anything.
"You can't defeat me. Just give in to the fear."
Annabeth pivots around swinging the toolkit-disguised hammer with deliberate strength as she moved towards where she guessed its new attempt at a head would be. Her attack seemed to work but she'd over-calculated her movements against the added weight sending her crashing back into a freestanding display.
It only takes a side-eyed glance and the possible outline of a serpent's head to have Annabeth's eyes clamping tightly closed with a nervous whimper as her newly gained weight against whatever it was activates said display as the thing behind her came to life with a hissed giggle of "Look into my eyes. If you dare." That had Annabeth's skin crawling with an involuntary shriek of fear tearing from her throat even in its obviously mechanical prerecorded rendering of a voice against her ear.
Her eyes still closed Annabeth swung the hammer in her hand once again, this time at the thing at her back putting an end to the repeated "Look into my eyes if you daaa…" when the hammer strike connected hard with the jerky plastic head.
Tools and plastic shards clattered to the floor, as the animated attempt at a frightening Medusa stand-in sagged pitifully to one side, the side of its head now smoking and caved in from the force of Annabeth's attack. Still, Athena's daughter refused to open her eyes as she scrambled back to her feet, breathing hard against the internal fear and anxiety threatening to overpower her. As she redoubled her grip on the hammer in her hand, the rest of the intended tool kit lay broken and scattered at her feet. As she shifted into more of a fighting stance, listening hard beyond the sheeting rain, she could hear outside and the drumming of her own racing heart in her ears.
Impressive.
The praise only made Annabeth's stomach twist uneasily as it seemed to come from all sides of her.
But it'll take more than that to stop me. And you've provided so many interesting skins to try before we end this little game of ours.
"Annabeth."
Percy's voice, muffled as it was, calls from just outside the window. He seemed to be pounding on the glass trying to gain her attention, but she throws it off as another attempt to catch her off guard.
"Wise Girl behind you." Percy warns seconds before Annabeth was sidestepping a lunged attack at her back.
Let's try this one again, shall we? You seemed oh so fond of it the last time.
Annabeth hates herself for the pitiful scared whimper she gives at the spider's taunting.
"Annabeth,"
Percy again gave another hard pounding against the window glass separating them. "Hold your breath."
The warning made her drop down to her stomach at once before a title wave of water and power exploded the barrier between them sending water and glass exploding on her and the animated whatever it was still attempting to toy with her.
"I have this under control." Annabeth scolds in a gasp as soon as her boyfriend was finished pulling her back to her feet and then closer for a not so unwelcomed hug. Only she seemed soaked to the skin whilst only Percy's hair seemed to have been affected by the sheeting rain outside. His clothes in contrast looked like they'd been freshly pulled from a warm dryer compared to Annabeth's now waterlogged ones.
"Eerm, Sorry." Percy stammers noticing her discomfort as he reached up first to tug off his heavy jacket to drape around her shoulders then lifted a hand higher to shake a few visible glass shards from her hair. "but I thought you could use this back as soon as possible." He goes on presses the familiar bronzed blade back into her hand.
"Humm now you've brought my dessert. How thoughtful."
Quicker than instinct Percy had clicked Riptide into full sword gleaming shape as the couple stood back-to-back, their gaze casting around for the newest something the thing chose for a skin.
"This one's all yours." Percy decides even going so far as to click Riptide back into pen form once his eyes land on the now waterlogged spider still attempting to stand up despite its animated body clearly unable to hold itself upright. Thanks to the water damage the legs were jerky and most of the metal skeleton of the thing was visible making Annabeth breathe a little easier as she stood over it. It seemed much smaller now. Struggling just to stand.
She doesn't give it long to try bringing her knife hand down hard against the water-soaked metal of the thing's power supply giving the blade a hard twisting just to be sure as the thing slumped to the ground. Her hand still shaking Annabeth withdraws the blade only to stab back down harder plugging the water-splattered blade in again and again with every ounce of suppressed spider-related anxiety in her.
Not that it would help much to get rid of it completely she knew but it was something.
What little that was left of the silken threads that seemed to have been controlling it flinched away from the blade of her knife as it leaked out onto the glass and water-covered floor amid her frenzied attack.
"Venom much." Percy scoffed his voice oddly loud compared to her heavy breathing as his hand slipped so calmly into Annabeth's free one as they kneeled side by side watching the struggling thing for a few more seconds before Annabeth's knife hand slashes down last time aiming right for the feeble thing.
"Seems Archne has a new pet." Annabeth says her eyes yet to move from her would-be attacker "but then not quite hers either." She amends "It's something else. Something different."
"We should leave soon." Percy decides looking around warily at the destruction around them. His hand yet to drop from its held position with her in reassurance. "I was already on the way to find you when you didn't show up for our lunch date, but then dispatch got a call about the silent alarm."
"Silent alarm?" Before Annabeth could ask for more details, the wind picked up in a sharp whip snap through the aisle.
"Annabeth."
The two still kneeling demigods look up in amazement as Athena herself came hurrying past the broken glass at the front of the vandalized shop. "Are you hurt?"
Percy doesn't flinch when the hand holding his tightens painfully at the question as Annabeth shakes her head in denial. "I'm fine." She promises though both already know it's a bald-faced lie. "but you might want to take a closer look at this." Jabbing a bloodied finger down at the thing still trapped under the bronzed blade of her knife.
The goddess was already striding forwards with a curious expression at the offering as an Olympian retained 'cleaning crew' got to work fixing up the waterlogged shop. A new addition along with the recent rebuilding and remodeling of the 'old ways' of the Gods and Goddesses of the world.
But instead of getting a better look at the thing Athena carefully lifted both of her daughter's hands for inspection. "It'll take more than ambrosia to heal these," she says then gives a louder call of "Asclepius" over one shoulder.
Until the healing God's name was called Annabeth hadn't noticed the burning sting radiating up her arm from her bloodied hands. All of the smaller more superficial scraps and cuts had been washed away by Percy's thoughtful helping when their hands had been joined. Just like when she'd first seen during that tussle at the lake at camp or how he'd healed the bruises the poor woman the real Medusa turned to stone had left on her wrist.
"I think an at-home consultation is best." Percy steps in as a small, framed man with a grizzled beard flecked with grey wearing a neatly pressed tweed suit with smart-looking shoes and carrying an equally neat-looking black leather bag rounds the corner. Obviously, the goddess had the foresight to call for the healer before she left Olympus.
"I'm fine," Annabeth repeats through her teeth. "Stop being such a seaweed brain, Seaweed Brain." But not even Athena could deny the tender undertone of her daughter's voice on the repetition of the words as Annabeth's eyes found those of Poseidon's son.
"Humor me then, Wise Girl. Please." Percy answers this time wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's shaking shoulders as if the pair had completely forgotten they had an audience of literal Goddess and Gods.
"Fine." Annabeth grumbled, but even Athena smiles a little when she notices the way her daughter's head dropped to pillow against Percy's shoulder as she gave in allowing Poseidon's son to steady her as the group crossed to the rebuilt shop exit.