Ch38

Annabeth tossed and turned in her bed as the countless campers pointed and jeered in her dreams. Their mocking smiles and taunting laughs made her blood boil. "No stop!" She screamed

"How could she lose to a nobody?" Her chest tightened as she fought the urge to scream. Their faces were everywhere pointing and mocking her. "She's a daughter of Athena and lost to a mere child of a minor goddess? What kind of hero is she? I bet her mom is super embarrassed. No wonder she's been here so long and hasn't led a quest, what an embarrassment!"

The taunts and jeers continued. She fell to her knees as she fought the tears. The campers rounded her pointing and laughing. "No I'm not a loser!" She yelled as the crowds of people laughed.

"NO!" She sat up in her cabin her heart racing in her chest.

Her other siblings quickly looked at her. "Annabeth are you ok?" Malcolm asked with concern.

"I'm fine," she said sharply as she massaged the area where Ethan Nakamura struck her. It left no wound but oddly felt cold. It's was just a dream. Just a dream.

She lay in her bed looking up at the ceiling as she scratched herself. Damn them. Yesterday was supposed to be an easy victory but instead she got beaten and humiliated. The image of that son of Nemesis turning into her bitch step mother of all people knocked all the reason out of her.

I'll show them soon. There was another quest coming, she could feel it and she needed it more than anything at the moment. I'll show them what a child of Athena can do. I'll show them how a quest is supposed to be done.

When it was time for breakfast she strangely felt as if everyone was watching. "She lost badly," someone muttered.

"How long has she been here again?" Someone else asked. "How could she lose so easily?"

She snapped her head to see who said it but the other tables were vacant. She shook her head. I'm just nervous that's all. Her gaze then drifted to the Poseidon table where Percy sat with the children of Hecate and Nemesis' child. Her heart hardened. I'll show them.

As soon as she saw Chiron talking to Lou Ellen and a familiar hunter of Artemis. "Chiron!"

Chiron looked up at her. "Annabeth what is it? You look like you haven't slept?"

"I could give you a mood candle if you wish?" Lou offered.

"I'm fine," she said curtly before turning to Bianca. "What brings you here?"

Bianca di Angelo's gaze drifted to the ground as she took out a compass. "My brother attacked Percy Jackson and Alabaster Torrington. He's been after me and using the labyrinth and the shadows to move around."

"Oh." Clarisse had told her about the boy who had disappeared. "Has he tried to talk to you?"

Bianca's gaze hardened. "He's brainwashed. He's hunted me and killed many hunters." She looked up at Chiron. "Please if there are any quests allow me to go. My brother is out there I know it."

She quickly seized the opportunity as the idea came to her mind. "I need to see the oracle," she blurted out. Her body shook as she grabbed the centaur's arm. "Please! Luke is down there, I need to save him and Bianca's brother." Her heart raced in her chest, she needed this more than ever. "Please I need a quest.'

Chiron looked at her and at Bianca and sighed. "Fine go ahead."

She quickly went to her table and grabbed her plate and went to the flame. Mother please grant me a quest. I'll make you proud I swear. As the flames burned a small sense of relief washed over her.

"Yo wise girl you ok?" Clarisse asked.

She turned around and nodded. "Uh yeah I'm going to try and get a quest. Luke is down there along with Bianca's brother are there… I can feel it." She took a deep breath. "We need to find Luke before he does anything to hurt the camp.

Clarisse grinned. "I know you can do it."

Her heart swelled. "Thanks."

As she walked by the campers she could feel their gaze and their judgement. It made her skin crawl. I won't lose next time. I'll show them, I'll show them all what Athena's wisdom can do.

With that she quickly ran over to the Big House and entered the attic. As she walked down the dusty corridor she passed by various relics of the past. I'll be here too. One of the greats. She froze as she saw a torch with the label 'Percy Jackson and Alabaster Torrington.' Next to it was another torch attached to a picture that said Manzanar Internment camp. It had both of their names on it but with Ethan Nakamura's as well.

Her heart hardened. "I'll show them." She stared at all the relics and souvenirs. "I'll be here too." She had always dreamed of having her own quest. Percy was too stupid to take her, she'll show him what real company on a quest is like.

She strutted to the oracle who sat in her chair. "Oh Great Oracle of Delphi tell me what I must do." Swallowing the lump in her throat she looked up at the Oracle. "Help me save my friend and the camp."

Her heart raced as silence echoed throughout the room and then suddenly green smoke came from her mouth and took the shape of an owl.

"In shadows deep, the dead shall chase

Through the perilous endless maze, a dire race.

Pride must fall to find your way,

Prejudice gone, the path will sway.

A love once lost to fate's cruel breath."

Her heart raced in her chest as she finally got a quest of her own. Finally, tears formed in her eyes as she gave a polite bow. "Thank you." I'll show them all.

Taking a deep breath she repeated the words and walked down the stairs and out of the Big House where she found Chiron, Bianca and Clarisse."

"Well wise girl you got?" Clarisse asked as she sharpened her spear.

She nodded. "I did." Taking a deep breath she looked at Chiron and told bits of the prophecy she felt comfortable sharing. "Clarisse, do you and Bianca and to come with me? We'll be going into the labyrinth. Luke's down there and I'm sure Bianca's brother is with him."

Clarisse nodded her eyes lit with a fiery fury. "On it wise girl."

Bianca nodded and gripped her bow tightly. "I'm in," she said firmly. "I'll stop my brother before he hurts himself or goes too far off the deep end."

"I know you'll all be successful in your endeavors," Chiron said, meeting her gaze. "Perhaps you could ask Percy and Alabaster, they were somewhat able to navigate the maze."

Ask them? Her blood boiled, she didn't need their help on her quest. Besides the mere thought of asking Percy Jackson or Alabaster Torrington for help hardened her heart. She was a daughter of Athena she could execute this quest much better than they did.

"We'll be fine," she said curtly.

Chiron frowned. "Annabeth this is important, your opinion of them aside I think it would be wise to at least ask for their help."

She looked to the ground and avoided his gaze. "I'll think about it." She had no intention of doing it. She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of asking for their help. Luke please let me save you. She headed off to her cabin ignoring the look Chiron gave her. This is my quest. I'll save Luke and show them all what I can do. I'm better than them. I studied and trained harder than them. Mother give me your guidance.

"I can't believe she of all people got a quest," someone muttered. "She can't even beat a child of a minor goddess."

Her blood boiled. "What was that!" She snapped as her left shoulder winced in pain. Yet to her surprise there was no one nearby. Her heart raced as she shook her head and rubbed the bruise on her left shoulder. I'm just nervous that's all. This was her quest and she wasn't going to fail it, she would save camp along with her friend. Everyone will know what a daughter of Athena could do and how her wisdom could defeat any tricks or brute strength.

Alabaster headed towards the Poseidon Cabin where he found Percy shining Riptide. "Hey I was going to check with my aunt and Circe, want to come with me?"

Percy nodded and put away his sword. "Sure. I might as well see what your aunt is up to."

The atmosphere was camp was tense as everyone was preparing for the potential invasion. Many campers made way for them as they made their way to his Aunt's workshop in the woods. It was a tall tent guarded by various charms and dragon tooth warriors.

"There you are little brother." Circe greeted them with a smile. "Hello Percy Jackson."

Percy avoided her gaze. "H-Hey."

"Is Aunt Medea there?"

"Sure come on in," Circe led them into the tent. It was larger on the inside and had a large hearth in the middle the ground had various symbols and runes painted in blood.

His aunt turned to him and smiled. "Hello you two, what brings you here to my workshop?"

"How are the preparations coming along?" He asked.

Medea smiled. "My charms are working their magic, the barrier is strengthened along while I'm using all of my supplies available to see how they can work in a war."

"Good. How many of those dragon tooth warriors can you summon?" Percy asked.

"A lot but I'd rather not waste them all in the opening battle. We'll have greater challenges once we win here," Medea said. She went over to the fire pit in the middle and waved her hand over it. The flames flickered as he saw images of monsters and demigods marching against them.

"But don't worry we'll have more help," Circe said. "Your other siblings should arrive here in a few days."

He did a double take. "They're all coming?"

Aunt Medea nodded. "This is the biggest opportunity for your mother and for all of us. Her children fighting alongside the children of the other Olympians will gain her the approval of many." His aunt moved towards another table that had a very realistic map of Camp Half Blood and the surrounding areas. "We'll show the Olympians what kind of heroes your mother can produce."

Excitement coursed through his body. Mother we'll make you proud. We'll show them just how strong you are and how you deserve to be treated as equally as the rest.

He looked up at his aunt's gaze. "Good. We'll do all we can to make her proud."

Percy stepped forward. "If either of you need anything let me know. I won't let the camp bother any of you."

Circe smiled. "I appreciate that dear. Lou speaks highly of you, feel free to come with us to one of my resorts."

The son of Poseidon awkwardly looked at the ground. "Uh thanks."

He raised an eyebrow. Percy had been acting weird lately and he couldn't place his finger on it. "Anyway we should go." His aunt waved at them as they exited her tent. As soon as they were out of the woods he turned to Percy. "Are you ok?"

Percy avoided his gaze. "Oh uh its nothing. Come on lets practice sword fighting."

He frowned but said nothing. They found Ethan practicing with his katana with the other children of Hecate along with other campers. He clapped his hands. "Alright guys lets practice those drills."

Lou's face lit up. "Is Percy going to teach us."

"Uh yeah come on lets practice," Percy said. The son of Poseidon took out his sword. "Ethan can you help me demonstrate some techniques?"

"Sure." Ethan stepped forward gripping his katana by his side.

"Alright everyone watch closely," he said as he stepped aside.

Percy and Ethan came at each other and exchanged blows. Percy kept his posture as he countered Ethan's attacks but the son of Nemesis was no pushover. Ethan was managing to keep up with Percy their swords making impact with each other as the children of Hecate watched eagerly.

After showing them some techniques Percy and Ethan pulled away. "Alright everyone get into pairs of two and practice."

With that the three of them taught his other siblings as they used their swords. Not bad but we'll need to work harder. Gaining respect from their mother wouldn't be an easy task.

It wasn't long before a sizeable group of other campers had formed to watch them. By then it was his turn to spar with Percy. His golden sword flashed through the air as it met Riptide. Percy must have been practicing or something since his movements were quicker than the last time they spared. The son of Poseidon moved with the speed of the tide and the ferocity of the waves as he came at him with Riptide.

You got better, but so did I. A grin spread across his face as a bead of sweat formed on his brow. He blocked Percy's attacks and tried to move closer to land a hit. However, Percy easily parried his strikes and countered with a thrust.

He swore and quickly stepped back as he barely blocked the attack but Percy took advantage of his loose grip and disarmed him. There were applause from the spectators as everyone watched in approval.

"Not bad Al," Percy said.

He picked up his sword and sheathed it. "You too."

Percy looked at the other campers who were watching. "You guys can join in you want. Al can you help me train them a bit?"

He nodded. "No problem." The campers nodded and quickly formed into pairs and drew their swords. "Alright follow our lead."

With that he and Percy taught the group of campers with their swords until it was time for lunch. "Alright everyone see you next time," Percy said with a tense smile on his face.

"Good job," he said as the campers left.

Percy sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to train these campers. I've never been a teacher."

He patted Percy on the shoulder. "Don't worry you weren't bad. Come on I'll help you and I'm sure Ethan will as will."

Percy smiled at him. "Thanks. Come on lets get lunch."

As they sat at their table Circe came over and handed them each a potion. "Rest well boys."

"These better not turn us into guinea pigs," he said as he sniffed the potion only to be met by the scent of the sea.

Circe laughed. "Oh little brother you amuse me."

He shrugged and drank the potion, in an instant a calming sensation filled his body as his strength returned to him.

"See I told you," Circe said folding her arms.

Percy shrugged and drank his potion. "Thanks."

"Let me know if you need anything else," Circe said as she walked away.

"Well that was surprisingly nice of her," Percy said.

"Yeah I didn't think she would be the helpful type," Ethan said.

"She has her good qualities," he admitted. Besides being a gossiper.

After lunch he led Percy and Ethan to the amphitheater where the wreckage of the Talos prototype lay. "How are we going to do this?" Percy asked as he carefully examined the pieces of the broken robot.

"There were so many curses even my older siblings had difficulty," he said as he carefully traced a piece of armor. "We got rid of the curses, it just needs a new lease on life."

"Yo there you guys are!" Turning around they saw Beckendorf and a few other children of Hephaestus.

"Hey Beckendorf!" Percy said as they all high fived him.

"I was told you guys could use some hands," Beckendorf said as he looked over the broken robot. He let out a whistle. "My father always says things can be recycled, that sometimes current problems could be solved with tomorrow's technology."

"My family did its best to remove all the curses and negative energy," he said as he looked into the prototype's dead eyes. "If you and your siblings are up to it we can try to rebuild it."

A grin spread across Beckendorf's face. "Of course!"

They continued to help out around camp until they decided to have a little talk in the Poseidon Cabin. After casting a few protection charms he summoned Icarus.

The young boy appeared in front of them as mist danced off his toga. "Any signs of my father?" He asked.

"No but we figured we might as well tell you about our adventures in the labyrinth," he said as he sat across from Percy and Ethan.

Icarus nodded and remained silent as they recounted their adventures in the labyrinth. By the time they were done the young man was frowning. "This Quintus, I believe he might have been my father."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Icarus nodded. "No one can navigate the labyrinth as well as him." He sighed and shook his head. "I need to speak to him, he'll make a huge mistake if he joins Kronos."

"How are we going to find him? We can't just go back inside the labyrinth while the camp is preparing for a conflict," Ethan said.

He took out his cards and began to shuffle them. "The enemy is after him. One way or another he might come to us." He looked up at Icarus. "We'll show you to him when we find him."

Icarus nodded. "Thank you. I'll do all my best to convince him to not do anything foolish."

Ethan blocked Balthazar's attacks. Unlike Alabaster the older son of Hecate was much more aggressive. Yet he continued to use his katana to press Balthazar and repel his attack. Using his katana he blocked he blocked Balthazar's sword and managed to barely disarm him.

The crowd of demigods clapped. "Alright good job you two," Percy said as he stood up. "Alright everyone form pairs and lets train."

With that he and Balthazar went to help supervise the training along with Percy and Alabaster. Most of the campers were decent but he noticed a certain group of campers just watching from the sidelines.

"Are you guys going to practice?" He asked Drew and some of her clique.

Drew gave him a polite grin. "We are better here. I don't want to risk any of my clothes getting cut."

He raised an eyebrow but knew better than to argue with the Aphrodite Cabin. "Well enjoy watching if you want."

To his surprise, Drew got up and looked him over. "Hey why does Silena ask me about you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "She does?"

Drew nodded. "She asked me what you did with Percy and Alabaster, like I would know those things."

That took him by surprise; he didn't have much dealings with Silena. "Well I don't know what to say, I don't know what she could want with me."

"Well I notice she has been following you and your friends around. Like last night I totally caught her trying to get close to the Poseidon Cabin. Be careful hon, not all children of Aphrodite are as nice as me. Some can be quite manipulative," Drew said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well I'll keep that in mind." What is going on with Silena? He was pretty sure she had a crush on Beckendorf and not him, Alabaster, or even Percy.

AN: So apparently the Hecate book is coming out this coming week. Frankly from the preview chapter I read it maybe another light hearted story like Chalice. Either way the book will not affect this story.

Well Annabeth has her quest, it'll be a learning experience for her in a good way but it'll hurt a bit.

I have been tempted to make this story Lou/Percy but I haven't decided and frankly I won't be focused on any ships and frankly I always felt Rick should have written some more platonic ships.

Anyway please like and follow along with leaving your thoughts of the story so far!