Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus - the House of Hades

Annabeth IX

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this chapter is Dedicated to Ginny_Annabeth who designed the new character who will pop up later in the chapter! Keep reading guys .xx

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After days of the worst pain she had ever experienced, Annabeth had never felt so alert and alive.

"Do you want to split the last peice of food now, or later?" Percy asked, holding out the roll.

"Later. Not hungry. Are you?" She replied dismissively. Percy shrugged. "Bad question- you're always hungry." Percy grinned and she laughed quietly.

The plan today was that they would both go down to investigate the Kansas House. Originally, it was just to be Percy, but then a bunch of never-ending rogue slave cyclops had started marching past. Annabeth had felt much better before they had cleared.

"So, you're the cyclops expert. What do you think they were doing?"

Percy sniffed indignantly. "One learns about cyclopses when their half-brother is one. Meh. But I dunno. Possibly, they are slaves, to make prescious metals and stuff. Or, more likely, they are Gaea's recruitments. You don't have to be an expert to see they didn't look like Tyson."

Annabeth disagreed. "No, they looked buff, I think they looked like they didn't want to be there. Plus, I know the rider." She added smugly. It felt good to be back in the usual routine- Percy being ignorant and seaweed like, herself telling him the answers.

"Oh yeah? Who?" He asked.

Annabeth savoured the moment before telling. "Tityos. He attempted some kind of assault on Leo,(Not Valdez) and ended up on the wrong side of The Underworld."

Percy brightnened up, "I heard that! The guy who had a never-ending liver that was constantly pecked out by birds!" Annabeth didn't know why he was so happy about this, but he let him stay happy.

"Did he do something to your Grandma?" She giggled.

"Huh? Why?" Percy gormed, confused, his eyebrows scrunching cutely.

"Why are you so happy about it?" She noticed his discomfort and realised he was happy about getting something right. "Nevermind. But sort of- he had a regenerating liver. I don't know how he escaped, but it must've been pretty crafty. He was under constant surveillance by the Fates, Ceberus and even Hades himself."

"So thats what all the....was for." Percy indicated at his stomach whilst pulling a grimace. Annabeth nodded. He had been wearing many coatings of black metal bandages wrapped around his stomach.

"Well, just another enemy to watch out for with a sucked out stomach. Alls well ends well. So, ready to go?"

Percy walked in front with Riptide and sheared off the occasional glowing pond read or long grass, and indicating where not to step. Annabeth nodded enthusiastically and tried to help him feel important. Poor seaweed brain, she thought. He's really quite an alpha male.

Sometimes, she thought she saw things moving in the grass and would keep her bronze knife close to her, for any quick action. But then the grass would waver, Annabeth would divert her eyes, and it would dissappear. This place really gives me the creeps, she thought, and the sonner we find the doors the better. Just as she thought that she slipped on some mud.

Luckily, she pulled herself up and managed not to fall.

"You okay?" Percy called, before turning around and checking on her.

"Fine." She grumbled, dusting off her hands.

They carried on walking, and Annabeth started getting really aggravated. Her shoes kept squelching and slippy mud mixed with weird red Tartarus juice kept coming out of nowhere. The grass was getting longer and thicker until her and Percy stopped completely.