Hey guys, things are yet again crazy with my family but here, have a chapter- and I have a question for you, who do you think Bianca's going to end up with? And I do have some rough plans though they may change in the future. And what about our boy Jason since Piper's taken lol.
Replies:
avaatje: Yeah, Annabeth knows how to hit where it hurts. Because it hurt her.
Zephyr0f8: Yeah, he does deserve it but you gotta feel for him a little. And it does help- as does the mixture of training she's had over the years. And yes, yes much love and affection!
Krypton Writes: Yeah, Luke's pretty stunned lol. And I have roughly 19.
Terra King: Poseidon would be there clutching Percy's old Flounder teddy trying not to have a break down. Hades would be there like 'That's my niece!' Zeus would be sulking and worried because she's so strong. Hera would be scheming, Demeter would say it was because she had lots of cereal and Hestia would be offering comfort and hugs to Poseidon.
Guest: Artemis is taking her time to make judgements. And they do find it crazy but remember that the Greeks have no clue just how the Egyptians are set up now so Chiron's like 'Suspicious but not damning' while Artemis is like. 'That girls the one. She's Poseidon's. She has to be but I do owe her and I actually like her so I won't say anything yet. Zoe doesn't know- though y'know. She may find out :D
Undeath9087: Oh they had no clue and they had regrets lol. And I mean I couldn't possibly say about Zoe. But I will say that things never go as planned for them.
Wisestriker: Luckily for him Thalia's too stunned to react too lol.
Ryan Fowler: No killing my Bia off. Percy loves her honorary lil sister too much for that.
Noir Nyan: That was a mistake by me, but I'm not going to go back to change it at this stage. And Silena's still in camp. Chiron had a private intervention with her so the rest of the camp doesn't know she was a spy, but she's been monitored
The silence that followed Annabeth's words was uncomfortable to say the least. And Luke looked as if he'd been both slapped across the face and punched in the gut, not the most healthy of combinations to be sure. But Percy decided that she didn't feel sorry for the man- he'd earned that guilt that was shining in his eyes. He should feel guilty for what he'd done.
"Annabeth-" his voice was small, hesitant even. As if he wasn't sure how to even speak, let alone what he should say to her. And he wasn't stupid Percy knew that much. He knew full well that words could never fix what had been done, there was no changing it. All he could do was try and make up for it in other ways, and that was no small task either.
"Don't." Annabeth shook her head, "Nothing you can say is going to make it any better Luke. What happened happened and words can't change that. Nothing can now. I lost my hand but in the end… I gained a lot too." She turned her head to look back at Percy and Piper, who stood hand in hand behind her. "If it was a trade, then I'd say that I came out of it better off in the end. I've learned to adjust, I learned how to live and do everything left handed, even if it can be awkward at times. And I have the bracelet. That makes things easier when I do find myself in dangerous situations."
"Annabeth-" Thalia looked stricken too. "You- that-"
"It is fine." Annabeth's voice was sharp, "It's fine okay I don't- I accepted what happened a long time ago and I am okay with it but that doesn't mean I'm good at putting up with it when people go on and on and on about it." She awkwardly shoved her right hand into the pocket of her jeans. "I'll be fine. I promise. I can do everything I could with my right hand with my left now. I can fight and write and draw with it."
"I'm proud of you." That came from Chiron, and his expression was soft, "You truly have grown strong Annabeth- stronger than I could have predicted."
"We could have told you that." Percy gave a teasing grin, which earned her a flash of a smile from Annabeth.
"She's one of the toughest people I know." Piper spoke up, "And I know the whole Kane family so I mean… that's high praise-"
"It really is." Annabeth laughed brightly, shaking her head. "But to focus on the important things right now Chiron. Does Percy's little show prove that she can handle herself with or without her magic?" she tilted her head, "Especially considering the fact that she was nearly dead not too long ago."
"Yes." Chiron looked amused for a brief moment, "Yes, yes I suppose she has. I won't try to dissuade any of you from your chosen path. Though I'm not sure how much I can do to help."
"Well." Percy pressed her lips together tightly, "We need to get to Mount Tam by the 21st."
"By sunset on the 20th actually." Artemis admitted, "The Garden of the Hesperides can only be entered at sunset, and the Garden is the only way to get to our enemies."
"Right." Percy pressed her lips together tightly. "Right okay."
"It's the 18th today." Bianca spoke up, "I- theoretically I could shadow travel us there but I don't know how tired I'd be when it was done. Not with all of us going."
"That can be saved for if we have no other choice." Annabeth said smoothly, shooting Bianca a reassuring look.
"That'd be a hell of a drive." Piper's brows were furrowed, "I don't know how long it would take-"
"Too long." Luke shook his head, "I mean, technically we might make it- the drive is like two full days and a bit. If we started now we'd get there but they'll be sending monsters after us. That's going to add a few hours."
"Flying?" Artemis offered up after a moment of thought.
"I- I'm not sure." Percy shook her head- she could see the fear on Bianca's face, "Not with a daughter of Hades. Not on a plane at least." Zeus had already tried to kill Bianca once, though she wasn't going to remind Bianca of that fact right now.
"Okay." Annabeth closed her eyes, holding up a hand. "Let me think. Let me think. We can't be sure Percy will be safe to use her powers in time to portal us to San Francisco and even then we'd have to get from wherever we arrive to Mount Tam. That would be pushing it I think." Percy could see the way her girlfriend- god she hoped that she could call Annabeth and Piper her girlfriends- fingers were twitching, tracing shapes where her hand was tapping against her leg as she tried to plan. Then Annabeth pressed her lips together tightly. "We could go to Brooklyn House and get someone there to open a portal but I'd rather avoid that if we can. People might be watching Brooklyn House at the moment. Alina's people. They'll be wanting to drag you back there again. And she'll probably have monsters guarding any spots that could be used to open portals so even if we could get someone it'd be incredibly risky.
"Duat travel is out too." Percy spoke up, "Which is a pain in the ass because it would have been perfect but I can't risk using magic right now." When the time came she needed to be able to use her magic and she couldn't risk slowing herself down by pushing it too soon.
If she couldn't reach into the Duat when they were on Mount Tam she wouldn't be able to draw out the Scythe and they'd be well and truly fucked beyond all reason.
"Argos is too young." Annabeth added, "Or I'd say you should summon him."
"The hellhound right?" Thalia shuddered, "No offence but I'd rather not."
"Argos is a sweetheart." Bianca's smile was soft. "The cutest hellhound ever."
"I know." Percy grinned, "Remind me to take him on a playdate with Cerby when this is over."
"Of course."
"Can we focus?" Artemis quirked an eyebrow at that. "Please. We must figure out how to safely get to San Francisco within two days."
"A normal plane is out-" Annabeth said slowly after several moments of silent consideration, "But- if we were using a more… Egyptian mode of transport it would probably shield her from Lord Zeus' attention. If we're not at war he's not going to strike us out of the sky if we're travelling using… for example… one of Horus' sacred animals."
Percy's eyes widened. "Freak!"
"Uh- what's freak?" Thalia didn't look pleased for some reason.. then again Freak was a bit of a weird name she could understand why someone might be concerned.
"Freak's my older brothers pet Griffin." She laughed at the raised eyebrow from Chiron. "My brother was the Eye of Horus. Griffins are Horus' sacred animals. They bonded and Carter kept him. It's a good idea, it should protect Bianca and we'll get there in time if we can just get him here."
"You can control the creature?" Artemis raised an eyebrow, "You are not your brother-"
"Eh I've been feeding Freak scraps and fussing him for years. He loves me and I know how to give him orders."
"How will you get him here? You said you couldn't return to Brooklyn House."
"I could shadow-"
"Not unless you have to." Percy gave Bianca a firm look. "We're not taking the risk. If you're coming with us we need you at full strength okay Bia?"
"Then how do we get to Freak?"
Percy's lips twitched. "Well that's simple." She turned her gaze to Chiron, "I'm gonna need a phone."
And so, once they returned to the Big House Percy was left in Chiron's office on her own- Annabeth and Piper were waiting outside- talking to Luke and Thalia apparently, and Percy had wanted a little privacy for this call.
She sat, biting her lip and playing with the fabric of her dress as the phone rang- she'd set it down on the desk, putting it on speaker so that she could hear easier and have her hands free.
The phone rang at least five times before she heard the click of someone answering and Percy heard a familiar voice, exhausted but comforting.
"Hello? This is Carter Kane speaking who is this?" there was a hint of impatience in his voice, as if he was too busy but he didn't want to risk ignoring a call that might turn out to be important.
"It's me." Percy breathed the words, "It's me Carter."
There was a moment of stunned silence as Carter registered the words, as he registered her voice. "Percy?" he sounded almost
breathless, stunned. "Percy is that you?"
"It's me Carter." Percy closed her eyes tightly, curling her fingers into the fabric of her dress. "It's me-"
"Oh thank the gods." Carter's voice cracked slightly, "Mom got the letter you sent through the cat from Bast but- but we were so scared for you Percy. Are you okay? Gods are you- you scared us-"
"I'll be fine. A lot of stuff happened, too much to go into detail about right now but I am fine. I'll be fine."
"Percy-" Carter's voice was soft, "I know. About Desjardins. Mom- she told us."
Percy's breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes tightly. "Do- his body-"
"It's all being taken care of." And Percy could imagine her brother's expression, almost feel his arms wrapping around her, pulling her close to comfort her. Which was why she kept her eyes closed, pretending her big brother was right there in the room with her, ignoring the slightly tinny note from the phones speakers. "We'll hold off on the funeral until you can be there Percy. I promise. What happened to you?"
"It-" Percy swallowed hard, "I don't want to- I can't right now Carter. I just- I need some help here."
"Okay, okay what do you need? What can I do to help with whatever you've gotten yourself sucked into?"
"Can you get Freak to me? To the Camp."
"You're at the Camp?" Percy could practically see Carters raised eyebrow, "That's surprising. But I'll hold off on the questions as long as you promise to explain later. Why do you need Freak?"
"I can't use my magic right now without risking burn out- do not give that look-"
"You can't even see my face."
"I know you're giving me that look." Percy huffed the words, "That 'What the hell have you done this time' look. Which by the way is totally unfair I'm not that bad."
"Yes you are." Carter chuckled. "But you can save the story until we're face to face again. So you can't use your magic right now but you need to get somewhere fast and you figure your best way is Freak?"
"Annabeth does."
There was a brief pause then, "Okay, if it's Annabeth's idea,"
"Oh, oh so when it's Annabeth's idea you don't question it but when it's mine-"
"Percy, baby sister mine, I love you but you do come up with some crazy plans. I mean obviously I'd get Freak to you no matter what but knowing it's Annabeth's plan is somewhat comforting."
"… That's a fair point." Percy conceded, letting a small smile play across her lips, "Annabeth is the most level headed person around." She sighed, "I wish I didn't have to ask you. I know you've got a lot to deal with right now."
"Things are pretty under control." Carter sighed, "I mean, it's a shaky control but it's under control. No one's willing to go against my orders. And the fact that we received a message from you's helped a lot to smooth some of the ruffled feathers."
"If I could get him myself I would but Alina might have monsters or Rogue magicians outside of Brooklyn House and right now that's too big a risk to take." She let out a weak laugh, "If I could I'd pick up the statues in my room- I figure that might win over Athena a little since I doubt she'll be happy with my new status as one of Annabeth's girlfriends. I figure Aphrodite might approve of me with Piper but-"
"Woah- woah woah woah-" Carter yelped the words, "did you just- what the fuck Percy when did- how?"
"Part of the long story." Percy found herself laughing at her brothers stunned reaction. "But I mean, they're here with me and- we're working stuff out." She finally opened her eyes, "They kissed me Carter."
"I knew it. I knew that you three were all- gods but you're stupid. And to think I spent years worrying about some asshole boy trying to steal you from us."
"Nope, nope just the prettiest girls in the world-"
"You're going to be worse than I am over Zia." Carter laughed, "Listen as much as I want to talk I should go, sort things out with Freak. He should be with you in a few hours max okay?"
"I-" Percy nodded. "Of course. Thank you Carter. Seriously."