NEVER BE THE SAME . . . percy jackson

eighty seven: the incident.

AFTER BLOWING UP a parking lot, Brooklyn was very happy. And hearing Annabeth's voice down there helped matters.

She climbed down the rope ladder after Percy, sprinting to Annabeth and tackling her into a hug. She broke down in tears, staining Brooklyn's clothes, but she just scrunched up her nose and dealt with it.

"Uh, it's alright dude, or some shit, I don't know," Brooklyn stammered, and Annabeth snickered at her.

The crew gathered around them.

"Your leg." Piper knelt next to Annabeth and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"

Annabeth started to explain, her words shaky, but then becoming more confident. When she finished, the crew's faces were slack with amazement.

"Gods of Olympus," Jason said. "You did all that alone. With a broken ankle."

"Well . . . some of it with a broken ankle."

Percy grinned. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera — Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"

Everyone gazed at the statue.

"What do we do with her?" Frank asked. "She's huge."

"We'll have to take her with us to Greece," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."

"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," Hazel quoted. "Won with pain from a woven jail." She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."

Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. "Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."

Brooklyn frowned. She imagined the Athena Parthenos jutting from their trireme with a sign across her pedestal that read: WIDE LOAD.

"What about you guys?" Annabeth asked. "What happened with the giants?"

Percy told her about rescuing Nico, the appearance of Bacchus, and the fight with the twins in the Colosseum. Nico didn't say much. Percy explained what Nico had found out about the Doors of Death, and how they had to be closed on both sides. Even with sunlight streaming in from above, his news made the cavern seem dark again.

"So the mortal side is in Epirus," Annabeth said. "At least that's somewhere we can reach."

Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."

The word seemed to echo through the chamber. The pit behind them exhaled a cold blast of air.

Percy must have felt it too. He guided Brooklyn and Annabeth a little farther from the edge.

"Bacchus mentioned something about my and Brooks's voyages being harder than we expected," he started. "Not sure why—"

The chamber groaned. The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on a support cable, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling.

"Secure it!" Annabeth cried.

The crew understood immediately.

"Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get me to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."

Frank transformed into a giant eagle, and the two of them soared toward the ship.

Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. He turned to Brooks. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and shot into the air.