The Rise of Gaea

Annabeth 8

     "Piper McLean! You scared me!" Annabeth scolded.

     Piper didn't look sorry. "Annabeth," she said seriously, "you can't go on like this."

     "Like what?" Annabeth scoffed.

     Piper sat down beside her. "I can sense your heartbreak." She explained. "You can't just bottle it up, Annabeth. When Percy gets out, he's going to need you."

     Annabeth closed her eyes as tears seeped from them. "Percy needs me RIGHT NOW. You know he never did any research on Tartarus; he has no idea what he's in for!"

     Piper hugged her. "At least Nico told you he's alive. You just have to go off of that, okay?"

     "That's not enough to go on!" Annabeth exclaimed. "How would you feel if it was Jason in Tartarus, and all you knew was that he was alive. You didn't know if he was injured, or attacked, or lost, or captured, or..." she broke down crying. It wasn't fair. Percy had been through so much, and now Tartarus? And because of her? Why?

     Piper rubbed her back soothingly. "Just let it out, Annabeth. I know that it's not enough to go on, but it's all you have. You don't have to be strong for us."

     "Oh, um hi." Hazel's head poked through the doorway. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to interrupt. Leo was looking for you, Piper."

      Annabeth wiped her eyes. "You can go, Piper. I'll be okay."

     Piper and Hazel exchanged a look. "Or, I could stay with you." Hazel slipped over and sat with Annabeth.

     "Thanks, Hazel. See you, Annabeth." Piper left, and Annabeth listened to her footsteps patter up the stairs.

     "You don't have to babysit me." She told Hazel. "I'm fine."

     Hazel smiled sympathetically. "I know. I just want to make sure you know that we're all here for you. You don't have to be alone in this." She squeezed Annabeth's hand. "In fact, you aren't alone in this. All of us miss Percy. Obviously, we can't miss him as much as you, but we do miss him."

     "I know." Annabeth sighed. "It's just so unfair. Hera wipes his memory and steals him for the better part of a year, and then he falls into Tartarus when it should have been me."

     Sweet little Hazel suddenly looked very stern. "Don't you dare blame yourself, Annabeth Chase. Percy wanted Jason to save you first. It was his choice."

     Annabeth shivered. "Does it feel cold to you?"

     Hazel frowned. "Yes, but don't change the subject. Blaming yourself will only lead to darkness. When you blame someone, you end up hating them, and wanting to destroy them. This is not a healthy feeling to have for yourself."

     "Who should I blame then, if not myself?" Annabeth asked scathingly, wishing Hazel would just leave her alone.

     "Gaea." Hazel replied simply. "Blame Gaea. Destroy her, too, if you get the chance. I bet it would help you feel better."

     Annabeth smiled in spite of herself. "I'll keep that in mind."

     "Good. Now, I may not be the daughter of Venus, but I think I can help you fix your makeup." Hazel leaned closer. "You know, to keep this 'girl talk' between us girls."

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     "There. Nothing happened." Proclaimed Hazel triumphantly.

     Annabeth was impressed. For a girl who had grown up in the 1940's, Hazel definitely knew how to apply modern cosmetics. "Where did you learn all of this?" she asked in amazement.

     Hazel blushed. "I've been taking 'culture lessons' with Leo and Piper, which is just Leo being silly and talking about 'chicken nuggets' and 'hashtags' while Piper scolds him and teaches me makeup."

     "That sounds about right." Annabeth grinned.

     "I was just tired of making Frank feel like he had to be careful what he said around me. I wanted to understand references, and fit it." Hazel looked embarrassed. "I know, it sounds ridiculous."

     "Not at all." Annabeth gave her a smile. "As a daughter of Athena, you should know I would never discourage gaining wisdom."
     Suddenly, the ship lurched horribly, sending Annabeth and Hazel tumbling across the room. As such a thing was bound to happen on a flying ship, everything stayed put by some genius invention of Leo's"

     Hazel spit a clump of hair from her mouth. "What was that?"

     "I don't know." Annabeth extracted herself from the laundry bin. "Let's go find out."

     She ran out of her room, Hazel on her heels. Coach Hedge, Nico, and Frank were coming out to see what the commotion was, too. 

     Annabeth burst up onto the deck, and was met by a surprising sight. Jason was soaking wet, and propped against the rail. Piper was hugging him, sobbing.

     "What happened? Where's Leo?" Annabeth exclaimed.

     "Khione... the Boreads... a bomb..." Piper gasped out, before burying her face in Jason's shirt.

     Jason looked up, his eyes red and desolate. "Leo got flung off the ship by Khione."