Chapter XIV
Percy
Huh.
For some reason, I felt as if I was laying on my bed in Vanguard, but that would have been impossible because Vanguard had been trashed.
I forced my eyes to open and stared up at the ceiling of my room in Vanguard, confusion coming in me. I blinked and gently moved my legs to the side of the bed and slipped into my sandals. I reached out to my right and grabbed my cloak. An urge to yawn suddenly consumed me as I stretched, I felt... not exactly rested, but not the exhaustion that I felt just after the battle with Void.
...what if it was all a dream?
I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. No, it all felt too real to be just a dream, besides would I be tired if it was only a dream?
"Percy?" a soft voice inquired and I spun around to face Alpha. Yes, that was proof that it had not been a dream. "Are you awake?"
I yawned and nodded, slipping my arm into the sleeve of the coat. Why was it so cold? "Yeah," I whispered a little hoarsely. I cleared my throat. "I am now... but how are we in Vanguard?"
Alpha smirked slightly and he sat down on the foot of the bed. "That's the question." He snorted lightly and I tilted my head. "After you and Annabeth defeated Void it was like we went back in time." The apprentice tried to explain and I nodded slowly.
"I saw that you and Jezebel were at the battle... um... she's not a physco, right?"
Alpha chuckled lowly and he nodded. "Actually, Victoria was being controlled by Jezebel."
I was hopelessly confused, but I nodded as if I had understood what he had just said. "Alpha... so, your father was Void but who was your mother?"
Alpha lowered his hood and he pointed at his grey eyes. Suddenly everything clicked. "Really? You haven't figured it out yet? My mother is Athena." Images of my sort-of step mom and Void on a date filled my head and I shivered, horrified by my own imagination. Alpha made a face. "I'm also Hercules."
"WHAT!?!?" a new voice shouted and Annabeth stormed into my room. She grabbed a pillow off my bed and began hitting Jonathan with it. "YOU WERE HERCULES!?!? BUT YOU ARE NOTHING LIKE THAT JERK!!!"
Alpha squeaked and I stared at my fellow Heir in shock. Where did she come from!? "I was on a mission!" he grabbed a pillow and began to hit her back with it. I wondered if it was a good time to disappear before World War III erupted. Or was it four? "I was looking for a potential heir! Although Chaos told me not to..."
Annabeth screamed in frustration and wrapped her arms around his neck and began to squeeze. "First you tell me I'm your 'baby sister' and now you say that you were one of the greatest heroes of all time!?!?" her voice was a snarl and I stood up and began to inch away. "Don't. You. Even. Dare. Perseus. Orion. Jackson." Her mismatched eyes snapped to me and I sat down.
I was going to die.
She let go of Alpha, who promptly fled and she turned to look at me.
Annabeth
I sighed softly and all my anger was released. Percy looked at me in confusion and I walked up and slid down the wall and sat down next to him and closed my eyes.
"So... you're not going to kill me?" he asked a little fearfully and I snorted.
"No, only Alpha deserves that treatment." I replied and I rested my head on his shoulder. He sighed softly and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"I thought it had been a dream..." he whispered, breaking the comfortable silence and I sighed. "It would have been both a blessing and a curse if it had been. Probably more of a curse, but at least everyone would not have died..."
I sniffled slightly; Thalia and Luke and Zoe and Bianca and Sam... I knew he was thinking of them. Nico barely came out of his room anymore. The only ones remaining of the original six were him and Percy now; Calypso had died at the hand of her father. So many people had died...
"I know," I whispered and he paused for a moment.
"Are you going to go back to Camp?"
I sighed softly, the idiot. Did he really think I would be able to go back to Camp Half-Blood after everything? He was right about it, Half-Blood hill would never be my home again. Percy had stolen my heart and so Vanguard was my home. "I'm staying here," I murmured, "With you."
I looked up and noticed that he was smiling slightly. I returned the smile and he paused for a moment and bit his lip. I wondered why he looked so nervous all of a sudden. "Annabeth... I..." he swallowed heavily, closing his eyes and I grew concerned. I gently caressed his face and he opened his eyes. "I told myself that if we got out of the war alive I would..." he swallowed and suddenly I realized what he was trying to say. I smiled slightly and he raised his eyes to the ceiling. "You're laughing at me!"
A faint giggle escaped from my lips and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "No, I'm just happy. That's all. What was it that you were going to say?"
He huffed slightly, although he looked perhaps a little amused. "You're not making this easy, you know." He complained well naturedly and I kissed his nose. I really wanted to say; I'm never going to make this easy, Seaweed Brain. I resisted though, I would not be the one who would ask. Finish it, maybe, but I would not be the one to ask. "Err... would you... um... become Nyx?"
I grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it. He squeaked slightly and I glared at him. "I have no idea where you got the idea of that kind of marriage proposal, probably Alpha." He looked crushed and I pouted slightly. "Of course, you Seaweed Brain!" I shouted slightly frustrated and he looked up with seal eyes. I sighed slightly and kissed him. His eyes widened slightly and then they closed and his hand settled in my hair. I sighed softly and pulled away.
"Is that a yes?" he breathed and I hit him with the pillow that I was still holding.
"Of course!"
"EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" the door opened and Piper, Alpha, the newly renamed Victoria, Nico and Jason tumbled in. My eyes widened with shock and they looked up at us sheepishly. Silena, Charlie, Leo, Hazel and Frank followed them much more gracefully although they looked a little sheepish.
Percy groaned slightly and I bit back a chuckle. Piper, Victoria and Silena looked like they were about to jump on us, Charlie, Nico and Jason had the decency to look a little sheepish but the rest? They looked a little too smug for their own good, especially Alpha and Nico.
"Shall the wedding be out in five hundred years?" I whispered to Percy in a joking undertone and the daughters of Aphrodite gasped while tears welled up in Victoria's eyes. Percy shrugged slightly.
"I'm not sure if I can wait that long, but whatever makes you happy, Wise Girl."
I smiled at the use of my old nickname while Piper and Silena sniffed and began to bawl out their eyes. Victoria was already on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest, wailing something about how sweet Percabeth was (whatever that was). Alpha looked nervous and Nico was smiling slightly, as if he was happy.
"Fine, we'll compensate. How about in six months?" I smiled at him and he returned it.
"How in the world did I ever get so lucky?" he wondered and he sounded genuinely confused. I kissed his nose and stood up, offering a hand. He took it and I pulled him to his feet.
"We're the lucky ones." I answered simply and he kissed my cheek. I smiled at him.