Act I Chapter XXXVII: The Demigods go to Camp Jupiter

"Annabeth, are you sure about this?" Luke questioned. His voice was a few feet behind her, but Annabeth kept her gaze ahead. They had stopped outside the tunnel and had to play in traffic just a small bit to avoid being run over. Now, they were in some kind of side door that Percy had found.

"We can't spend forever looking up and down this tunnel," Reyna muttered. She was trailing behind them and still cradling her injured shoulder. "We need to get that bust back as soon as we can, and Percy is too scared to take a plane."

"Hey!"

"And, we're not going to make Percy do something he's uncomfortable with," Annabeth decided as she stopped to look back at them. It made sense why Percy hated planes so much. While Zeus might not be all there, they couldn't chance him coming back to full focus to find a son of Poseidon in his domain. Something told Annabeth he would not appreciate that.

"I never said we had to," Reyna muttered as she lowered her hand to her side. Pain crossed her face for a moment before she looked away to hide her expression. Annabeth watched Reyna like a hawk, still unhappy with her. And, she wished that Luke would say something as well.

"I know we are going the right way," Annabeth stated. She had to be right. Annabeth quickened her pace, and Luke caught up to her with ease.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked quietly.

"I am," Annabeth replied bluntly as she glanced back at Luke. "Are you going to talk to the two of them for not listening to you?"

"Now isn't the time," Luke said gently. "But, I will talk to them privately. This isn't something to talk about in front of a group."

Annabeth didn't like it, but she wasn't going to argue. She just turned a small corner. Her feet stopped on her own as she saw strands of sunlight seeping into the tunnel. Annabeth slowly walked towards it as Luke shined a flashlight around.

The brick tunnel looked like it was a service one, and with all of the rubble and cobwebs there, it hadn't been used in years. Maybe even decades. Annabeth slowly inched her way toward the strands of light and looked at them. The brick wall that was there looked ready to collapse. And, she could see something past it.

"I think we can bust this down," Annabeth began.

"Now it's fine to bust things," Reyna muttered under her breath. Annabeth turned and glared at her.

"Because there isn't a monster in this tunnel who will hear the sound of an idiot breaking open a lock with their sword," Annabeth seethed as anger seeped into her tone. "Especially when a son of the god of thievery could have picked the lock within five seconds."

"Annabeth," Percy began.

"And you need to stop being so worried about others!" Annabeth chastised as she turned towards Percy, but then she hesitated. It wasn't that she wanted to yell at him, but he just happened to be in the line of fire. Annabeth took a deep breath. "You should have just taken the bust and left. Stopping to check on Reyna almost got you killed."

"It almost got both of you killed," Luke corrected. He sighed. "Look, I know that you care for others, Percy. But, there has to be times when you put yourself first. If we had all died back there and the bust was lost, this quest would have failed. We cannot fail when we are this close."

"And Reyna, I know you're used to being on your own, but we are a team. We have to work together. I am the most experienced, and that is why you should listen to me. I would never put any of us in danger," Luke continued. Reyna studied Luke and looked like she was going to say something. Instead, she looked away.

"I'm sorry," Reyna almost whispered. She didn't meet any of their eyes, and it looked like she was forcing herself to eat a slice of humble pie. She needed it.

"I am too," Percy added. "It's not that I want to disobey, but I can't stand the thought of one of my friend's being hurt."

"I know," Luke said. "But, that was not the right time."

Percy nodded and looked back at the wall. Luke did as well and slowly pulled off his backpack. He placed it down and studied the bricks. He chewed the bottom of his lip, "Alright. How do we want to do this?"

"A shield would be best," Reyna muttered. "But, no one has one. My backpack could work with the armor in it."

Annabeth nodded and took off Reyna's backpack. She handed it to Luke and then quickly stepped away. Reyna and Percy made space. Luke took a deep breath and adjusted his grip on the backpack. He lifted the backpack and then slammed it right into the bricks.

Some of the bricks broke away, and Luke wound up his arm to hit the wall with the backpack once again. After readjusting his stance from smashing into the wall, he handed the pack back to Annabeth and started to clear away the bricks. Luke carefully climbed through the hole that he had made as sunlight flooded the tunnel. Annabeth followed behind a moment later.

Annabeth made it to her feet and looked out at the empty field that met her eyes. She could barely make out objects that looked like they could have been structures. Annabeth squinted her eyes and saw something else.

In the middle of the field, there were pieces of the ground that looked like they had been scorched long ago and then left to the elements. There also seemed to be a structure around the destroyed earth. A frown came to her face. What was that?

Annabeth looked behind her and watched Reyna pull herself out of the tunnel with one arm. She pushed herself to her feet and bore her eyes at the barren wasteland. Percy followed behind a moment later and gave some excellent commentary, "This looks a lot better than it did during my dream."

"I imagine the Romans cleaned up," Annabeth added. "Before they decided to attack Camp Half-Blood."

Annabeth slowly walked forward. She knew there was some kind of answer waiting for her. Something here would tell her exactly what happened back then. She just knew it. All Annabeth had to do was find it.

She noted the marble on the ground where temples or some kind of building must have stood. Luke spoke up, "It looks like someone cleaned up here."

"Annabeth was just saying that," Percy commented. "She said it might have been the Romans, but does anyone think it was Lupa?"

"That would make the most sense," Annabeth agreed as she walked a bit further away from them. Her foot scuffed something, and she looked down. A dagger skidded past her vision, and she watched it come to a stop in overgrown grass. Annabeth trudged towards the dagger and looked down at it.

The dagger was made of imperial gold, and it looked freshly polished. Someone left this weapon here recently. Not months or years or decades ago. Someone had been here a day, maybe two days ago. But why? Why would someone with a dagger be here? And who was it?

Annabeth crouched down by the dagger and brought her hand towards it.

Save them.

Annabeth jumped in alarm and quickly scanned her surroundings. She didn't see anyone. Luke was brushing through the field, and Percy was looking around at one of the marble bases in the charred earth. Reyna had her hand to her shoulder as she slowly examined more of the wasteland.

Annabeth focused back on the dagger and started to reach out again.

I have to save them. I have to save them.

It took all of her willpower not to jump. Where was that voice coming from? The dagger? That couldn't be, though. Was this one of the war flashes that Chiron spoke of? Whatever it was, she could handle it.

Annabeth took a deep breath and reached her hand out towards the dagger yet again. As her hand wrapped around the handle, pain raced across her forehead and spread to her eyes. Annabeth closed her eyes tightly. When she reopened them, she was somewhere else entirely.

Annabeth tried to move her body, but she wasn't able to. Her head fought to move left and right to examine her surroundings, but her muscles refused to work with her. A growl caught her attention, and her gaze focused on the item in her hand. Her left hand held a dagger, and her right hand held down the body of a small raccoon. One that looked like it was only a few months old.

Below her was an altar, and there was a small bowl that she held the raccoon over. Her gut twisted as she watched. The dagger slowly moved towards the neck of the raccoon, and the animal squealed. Annabeth felt a small grin split her lips, and she tried to do everything in her power to wipe it away.

"I thought I would find you here," a voice spoke up. Annabeth stopped the dagger as it was touching the hair of the raccoon's neck. She placed the dagger down and then put the poor animal back into its cage. Upon closing the cage, she peeled off her gloves to reveal pale hands. Her sight shifted to the newcomer.

The man wore golden armor and a toga. His hair was cut like he was in the military, and there was a small bit of stubble on his face, "I brought you a visitor."

A second person stepped into the room. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans. Unlike the first one, his hair was a mess that went down to his shoulders. His hand moved to the necklace around his neck that had five beads. Annabeth felt a scowl violently twist her face.

"Is this our... visitor?" Annabeth questioned. Her voice was nasally and made Annabeth inwardly cringe. She wasn't sure how someone could sound so slimy, but this person did. "Do you have it, graecus?"

The boy with the shaggy hair nodded. He slowly walked towards the table in front of Annabeth and put down a map. Annabeth stared down at the parchment. Buildings were drawn on the map and named after one of the twelve Olympians. A few other buildings had different names, and with one of them being labeled hill, Annabeth realized she was looking at a map of Camp Half-Blood.

"We patrol in four different areas that I have marked," the boy with the shaggy hair informed. He placed another parchment down. "I have a list of all of our supplies. He is going to reward me, correct?"

Annabeth's eyes shot to the other person wearing gold armor. Then, it focused back on the one she called a graecus. Her head bobbed like she was nodding.

"He will reward us greatly," Annabeth promised. Her finger ran over the paper. "We just have to be smart about this. The golden praetor is too much of a coward to do what must be done, but I am not."

"There is also an overlook that will allow you to keep an eye on the camp," the shaggy-haired boy said softly. "If you attack during school time, there won't be many people there."

"Well, what's the point of that?" Annabeth questioned as a cruel grin creaked open her lips. "If we're going to exterminate the rats, we have to make sure they are all in their cage. Will they know you are missing?"

"They think I have summer school this year, so I-"

A sword stabbed through the back of the other boy's chest. Annabeth watched as the boy slowly looked down at the sword extended from his torso. He slowly looked up at them, and life started to drain from his eyes.

"Where should I put him?" the other asked as he shoved the dead boy off of his sword.

"Bring him to the altar," Annabeth answered as she walked towards a small bowl. "I'll give his blood to the gods and see if we have their favor."

Annabeth stopped in front of the bowl of water and looked down at it. If she could, she would have gasped from the reflection. This body that she was in wore a toga. The man looked to be in his teens, but he had blonde hair and blue eyes. If he had a scar under his face, he would look exactly like Luke.

"Annabeth!"

Annabeth gasped as it felt like her world was being torn away from her. Black and red dots blanketed her vision, and she felt a sharp pain in her forehead. The pain became worse and worse until it felt like her head was going to explode. She felt someone place a hand on her back, and another hand grabbed hers.

Annabeth felt her fingers being pried open, and the dagger fell away. Most of the pain fell away into a dull ache, and she was able to slowly open her eyes. Someone had one hand on her back, and someone else was holding her hand.

"Hey, it's okay," a voice whispered. "It's okay."

Annabeth blinked a few times and focused on the person in front of her. Reyna was kneeling near her and had the dagger in her hands, probably because she was the one who pried it away. Reyna continued, "It's going to be okay, Annabeth. Can you hear me?"

"I can," Annabeth slowly muttered. She felt someone, probably Luke, rubbing circles on her back. "W...what was that?"

"Probably a war flash," Reyna answered in a quiet voice. "It's what happened to me with the dagger at Camp Half-Blood. You see memories through the eye of the owner."

"It was so real," Annabeth whispered. She shook her head and slowly stood. Luke immediately grabbed her shoulder.

"You should rest," Percy began.

"You should," Luke agreed.

"No," Annabeth declined. "I just need a minute to get my bearings."

"Can I see that?" Luke asked. Reyna nodded and handed the dagger to Luke, who studied it. "This looks freshly polished. I thought Chiron said that those kinds of flashes were because the item was haunted. Why would a freshly polished item be haunted?"

"Someone's probably still using it," Percy suggested. Luke seemed to think about it and then shrugged. His head suddenly turned to the side, and his eyes widened. He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it.

Despite her shaking hands, Annabeth grabbed her sword and did the same. She turned in the direction that Luke was facing. With the sun shining in their eyes, it was hard to make out who was in front of them. But, she did see the glint of an arrow. That caused her to hesitate.

The person with the bow was only a few feet away, flanked by two others. The leader hesitated and slowly lowered her bow, "Annabeth?"

"Thalia?" Annabeth gasped. Her old friend stepped past the glare of the sun and smiled slightly. She looked just like the last time they had seen her with a parka, torn jeans, and a Green Day shirt that Annabeth stole for her all those years ago.

"Luke," Thalia greeted stiffly as she lowered her bow completely. "Who are your friends? And what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," Luke began. "Do you think we can go back to your camp and talk?"

"My lady is away, so I think she'll allow it," Thalia agreed after a few moments. "Just this once."