SANITY; heroes of olympus

03.13

But none of that mattered when she heard two of her favourite people's voices from above: "Annabeth!"

"Here!" she sobbed.

All the terror seemed to leave her in one massive yelp. As the Argo II descended, she saw Percy and Andy leaning over the rail. Their smiles were wide and their eyes were teary, but their relief was bigger than any tapestry she had ever seen.

The room kept shaking, but Annabeth managed to stand. The floor at her feet seemed stable for the moment. Her backpack was missing, along with Daedalus's laptop. Her bronze knife, which she'd had since she was seven, was also gone—probably fallen into the pit. But Annabeth didn't care. She was alive.

She edged closer to the gaping hole made by the Fiat 500. Jagged rock walls plunged into the darkness as far as she could see. A few small ledges jutted out here and there, but Annabeth saw nothing on them—just strands of spider silk dripping over the sides like Christmas tinsel.

The daughter of Athena wondered if Arachne had told the truth about the chasm. Had the spider fallen all the way to Tartarus? She tried to feel satisfied with that idea, but it made her sad. Arachne had made some beautiful things. She'd already suffered for aeons. Now her last tapestries had crumbled. After all that, falling into Tartarus seemed like too harsh an end.

Annabeth was dimly aware of the Argo II hovering to a stop about forty feet from the floor. It lowered a rope ladder, but she stood in a daze, staring into the darkness. Then suddenly another body was colliding with hers, the smell of strawberries and lavender washing away every other smell, soothing her. Andy held her tight, turning the blonde away from the chasm, whispering, "It's okay. You're okay, we're together."

Annabeth was briefly aware of another pair of arms wrapping around the both of them, and then a third. Percy and Donnie and Andy and Annabeth. They all held onto each other, though they were all fully aware of the others who were approaching.

Their friends gathered around them. Nico di Angelo was there, but Annabeth's thoughts were so fuzzy, this didn't seem surprising to her. It seemed only right that he would be with them.

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

She started to explain. Talking was difficult, but as she went along, her words came more easily. Andy didn't let go of her hand, which also made her feel more confident. When she finished, her friends' 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."

Zara looked up at the statue, examining it with a sort of understanding in her eyes, almost like she didn't have to hear Annabeth's story to understand why such a thing was so important. Anyone growing up in the Storm household, the blonde knew, had been raised learning all about history, but specifically Greek and Roman history, which created a sort of appreciation for things like the giant statue before them.

"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."