Mission Accepted: Percabeth AU (HoO)✔️

Watch Your Step

I feel her eyes piercing mine despite not being able to see her face and I can practically hear the hidden cruel, calculating smile when she says, "Because I'm not done with you yet."

Percy's POV:

I storm through the small side living room down the hallway near the front of the palace doors where the others sit, hunched over their knees. Three people sit on the floor, bandages covering some parts of them but mostly just grim.

I wrinkle my nose slightly at the stench. Jason jumps to his feet but I'm already speaking, "The ball has ended, don't tell me she hasn't come! Because you did not come to get me!" My voice rises.

Jason holds up his hands, pain dotting his expression, "She hasn't come, okay?!"

I stop. "What?"

"SHE. HAS. NOT. COME. BACK." a guy around my age stands from his place on the floor, his eyes simmering, yelling.

"And who are YOU?" I burst.

"I ESCAPED HEADQUARTERS WITH HER SMART GUY!"

Thalia points to him, "Percy meet Thomas Barns – or as Annie calls him, Barns." She then gestures to the girls watching from the floor, "Mage Brynn and Jade Barns."

Barns and I stare each other down, but after a moment I thrust my hand out into the air. He hesitates before gripping it, and I give him a firm shake, "Thank you."

Barns holds my eye contact, saying, "Thank her, she got us out and made sure we survived so long."

Jason sighs, stepping in, "Barns tells us she chased a rebel guy through the streets, but she hasn't shown up for hours now."

"We fear she's been taken by Cruz," Barns says abruptly. For the first time since I walked in, I notice his nervous fidgets, eyes constantly flying to the entrance. I can't imagine the journey here and how many times they've had to look over their shoulders.

Annabeth's POV:

The streets blur together, exhaustion creeping in. My hand holds my side as it continues to bleed from all the exercise and forceful movement from the rebel guard. I need to get medical attention fast. I need to get to the palace.

My breaths become raspier. I'm surprised I've lasted this long with deprivation of sleep, my amount of blood loss, and exhaustion of using my abilities and agents' training skills. Barns, Brynn 1.0 and Jade should be back at the palace now, this thought calms me.

My feet drag a bit more and I have to remind myself to bend my knees, picking them up. The palace gates are barely a hundred feet, but I doubt I'll be able to convince the guards to let me in. I'm soaked with blood, limping, eyes half-closed, swaying on my feet. I can't tell them I am a selected girl either, especially with the ball going on right now, I doubt I would be the first girl to try and get in.

As I continue walking, my legs begin giving out more and more. Just a little further, I tell myself. Then you can rest. Then you'll be safe. But my legs give out anyway and I feel the pebbled road embrace me.

I remember Cruz's haunting words, wondering what she truly meant but it, and watch them drift through my mind as everything painfully blacks out. Because I'm not done with you yet.

Percy's POV:

I say, "What happened before she left?"

Barns smiles a bit, "They caught up with us a mile or so away from the city gates. She took care of them. Then – "

" – what do you mean 'took care of them'?" I break-in.

"She jumped onto a truck from ours," Mage Brynn speaks, crossing her legs on the floor.

Leo laughs from the couch, "What else?"

Thalia rolls her eyes, "What do you think? She probably pressed metal to metal, and 'took care of them'."

Barns lets out a frustrated kind of noise, his voice not so quiet, "Why are we talking about this when she could be tied in a random warehouse and being interrogated for Royal Spy intel?! We have been running from these stupid rebels for days on end, with barely any sleep and she is FLIPPING BLEEDING OUT FROM HER SIDE!"

This shuts them up. Jason's forehead creases as he asks, "How bad of a cut?"

"Not even a cut, if she doesn't get it looked at, she will die," Barns scoffs.

"Can you contact her through her earpiece?" I ask, desperation beginning to cling to me.

Leo shakes his head, "No response."

"I want every inch of those streets searched," I say, beginning to turn to order the guards.

"Wait!" I hear Barns yell. He speaks when I look to him, "That'll only draw attention, we need to do it and quickly. The thing about Cruz is she knows everything you're going to do before you do it. You cannot order guards to do this task, this is for the Royal Spies."

I splutter, "And you just expect me to sit here while you search?!"

"Yes."

I laugh humourlessly, my eyes solemn, "No, I am coming with you and am going to search every inch of the city if I have to." Barns stares back at me, jaw clenched.

Thalia whistles, "Boys, you're wasting time. Go." 

Have a great day/night wherever you are! - The Fangirl