Act I Chapter XXV: Annabeth Has a Plan

Annabeth was too restless to sleep. They were so close to their goal that she could taste it. All they needed to do was find this supposed statue and bring him back to the remains of Camp Half-Blood. Then, they could start to rebuild. They would finally have a safe place to call home.

But, Annabeth knew it wasn't that easy. Just clearing the fields of Camp Half-Blood and the surrounding area would be a gigantic task for them to undertake. Then, they would have to build some kind of structure to live in. Annabeth wasn't sure if they could call in a mortal company to do that for them or not.

Also, they needed weapons. Having this "Terminus" could help them, but he wouldn't be able to keep them safe forever. They just needed long enough to get more demigods to the camp. But, they couldn't just have Lupa send out the same dream she sent to all demigods who didn't know about themselves. That would just be putting fish in a barrel.

They needed to find a way to contact the demigods they had already trained, to convince them that this was their destiny. If not, Annabeth would find another way. She knew another place that she could go with people who could help her, but...

The tent flap opened, and Annabeth looked up. Reyna walked into the tent, and she looked exhausted. There were bags under her eyes, and her shoulders were sagging. A frown twisted Annabeth's face as she saw that Reyna's jacket had been torn at the shoulder, and there also seemed to be a few specks of blood along the same spot.

"Were you attacked?" Annabeth questioned. It had been hours since Reyna first walked out of the tent. She did that a lot, disappearing at random times or staring ahead like her mind was a million miles away. It seemed to be worse after they fought the Minotaur. She had been mostly quiet on their ride back to the camp, only snapping out of her trance as they got close to home.

"No," Reyna answered after a moment. "Caught it on a branch."

Annabeth didn't believe that for one second. She wasn't sure how much she trusted Reyna. Sure, the demigod would jump in front of a monster for any of them, but she didn't tell them anything. Reyna withheld information.

Reyna was a Roman, and they all knew that. Why didn't Reyna admit it earlier, and why didn't Lupa admit it at all? Why was there a big secret about it? And Percy, dense as he was, had a good theory that Lupa was training the Romans in secret. That could be why the goddess hadn't spoken up.

But why not just tell them? They could train together. Annabeth knew that Lupa didn't like or trust them. Lupa was stuck with them, though. They didn't have many options left. Annabeth wanted to question Reyna, but she knew it wasn't the right time. Yet

"A branch," Annabeth finally repeated, sounding unconvinced. "It must have been a pretty sharp branch. Or should I say branches?"

"Just one branch," Reyna replied. She fixed her jacket to hide her armor. Reyna wore her armor like a second skin. It was rare that Annabeth saw her without it. Even with that shell on, Annabeth could see just how tense Reyna was.

Did Lupa actually do that? Why would she? Lupa clearly loved Reyna, so if the goddess was willing to do that to her, what would she do to the others? Annabeth finally spoke, "Are you okay?"

"I just need some sleep," Reyna answered after a few moments. She took her sword off of her belt and laid it on the ground.

"You haven't been sleeping much," Annabeth noted. Reyna nodded slightly. "Do you want me to wake you up for dinner?"

"Just wake me up if we find out where Terminus is," Reyna decided as exhaustion crept into her voice. She laid on her sleeping bag, not even bothering to get inside it. Her face rested on her pillow as her eyes drifted closed.

Annabeth stood and grabbed one of her spare blankets. She laid it over Reyna before exiting the tent. Annabeth walked towards the fire and knelt by it. Lupa was supposed to be finding information about where Terminus was, but it seemed the wolf goddess was a little preoccupied.

Clarisse sat at the campfire and was staring into the flames, a scowl etched into her features. Annabeth slowly sat by her and spoke, "You know we didn't want to leave you behind."

"But you did take a newbie along," Clarisse muttered.

"Someone has to protect Drew and Will," Annabeth countered as she glanced at the two demigods in question. Drew was sitting off to the side and inspecting at her dagger. She used it to do her makeup, which was probably going to give Luke an aneurysm if he caught her. Will sat by her and was looking through a notebook.

Clarisse grunted, "Could have been Reyna."

"She told us that she has been at Camp Half-Blood before," Annabeth explained, and she gave her a small shrug. "Sorry."

"I'm going on one of your adventures sooner or later," Clarisse swore. She looked back at the tent. "What happened to her anyway?"

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "Something with Lupa. How long was she gone?"

"Hours," Clarisse answered. She tapped her fingers against her leg. "Like she normally does during the day instead of sleeping. I don't know where she goes, and I don't like it."

Annabeth nodded her agreement, even if she didn't voice it. Her teeth chewed on the inside of her lip. Annabeth didn't know if she trusted Reyna completely, but Reyna did go out of her way to protect them. She shoved Percy out of the booth even if she claimed that it was because he was in the way.

Then again, who among them didn't have secrets. A sigh left Annabeth, "Any luck in the search?"

"I guess Lupa tried contacting some mortals, but I don't think she got anywhere. Chiron has been playing guard, and I guess that he started talking to a water spirit, who started talking to a tree spirit, and after a few hours, the water spirit got back to him and said they might have a lead," Clarisse delineated. "I doubt we'll get anything from it."

"Did anyone try calling museums?"

"That seems like a dead end too," Clarisse responded, shaking her head. "Why couldn't the oracle just tell you where to go? That would have been so much easier. Why does everything have to be a damn riddle?"

"Maybe, she doesn't know where to go," Annabeth guessed with a shrug. She heard a branch snap and quickly looked up as Chiron walked into the clearing. His face portrayed a deep frown as he held a dagger in his hand. Annabeth watched as a droplet of blood dripped to the ground.

"Chiron, you okay?" Clarisse asked as she quickly stood. "Are you bleeding?"

"No," Chiron said somberly as he looked at them. A smile morphed his lips, but it looked forced. He walked towards the small bag that he had. Annabeth studied the golden blade, and her own frown marred her features. He was acting odd, like he was hiding something.

An angry goddess entered the clearing and walked towards the tent that the girls slept in. Lupa carefully stuck her head into it, and the image would have been funny if Annabeth wasn't so confused. Lupa retracted her head and then walked towards the campfire.

"Any more leads?" Clarisse asked.

"No," Lupa answered, and Clarisse grunted at that. Annabeth looked at Lupa and then moved her gaze back to the tent. Something had happened. It was connected to the dagger, Lupa, Reyna, and apparently Chiron as well. "Chiron's lead died as well."

"What do we do then?" Annabeth asked. Lupa stared at the fire, and it looked like a million thoughts were running through her mind. Annabeth always wondered how the brain of a goddess worked. Did they easily remember things that happened centuries and decades ago? Or did they need something to remind them? Something that they would hold onto and never let go.

"We keep looking," Lupa replied, but she didn't sound optimistic. Annabeth's frown deepened. She hated this. The only thing she wanted to do was help bring the gods back. It was something her and Luke had talked about for a while now.

Annabeth didn't mind training new demigods. She did mind sending them off on their own to die or have some other worse fate. And, it frustrated her that no action had been taken earlier by Lupa or Chiron. The two trained all these heroes long enough to have a chance to survive.

But you couldn't be a hero just by surviving. Heroes stepped out of their comfort zone. They fought for what was right.

They changed the world head first.

And right now, the world needs heroes. The gods needs heroes. They need to be propped up to regain their power. They had to put things back to how it used to be.

Annabeth was going to do that, one way or another. She wanted people to look back at this moment and know that she helped spearhead the quest to bring back the gods. Annabeth's name would be associated with those great heroes of old. Nothing would stop her.

The biggest problem with the entire thing was the fact that Chiron and Lupa had waited for so long to do anything. Why were they waiting? Were they scared? Annabeth didn't know, and it frustrated her.

Annabeth had options, though. She would conceal them for now, and if this quest ended up being a big pile of nothing, she would have to activate her back up plan.

And Athena always has a plan.