(Y/N)'s POV
As they ran from the aquarium, (Y/N) was drenched head to foot, covered in little specs of glass from the display they trashed, as well as what looked like kelp and sand and gods knows what else they kept in the water at this place.
But that wasn't what scared him. It wasn't what made a chill run down his spine and his whole body turn cold, even as they raced into the open air. He wasn't even scared as they raced through the halls with droves of mortal around them
Although at any moment he may have been attacked by the worlds most powerful janitor, that wasn't what stopped him in his tracks. No, the thing that shook him most, they didn't find until they were almost out of the city.
Percy had insisted they travel to the ship as fast as they could. After their encounters in the wonderful tourist attraction, nobody disagreed, they called up Esther. Who offered to drive them back for free.
They declined of course, choosing as a last resort to pay her with (Y/N)'s credit card. He thought nothing of it, all he could think about was escape, the same as the others, that was why it blindsided him so much.
He was terrified, because as they got out of the cab, thanking the kind old woman for her help, and feeling as if they were home free, he saw something. Across the road, not even a hundred feet from where Leo had parked.
A building that seemed to be grafted onto the side of the street, standing alone as it's own entity, with pitch black brick walls and greenish paned windows was the building he was so familiar with, the one he dreaded seeing. Dead On Arrival Records.
The DOA stood there in all it's horrible glory, (Y/N) could almost hear Charon complaining inside, suddenly he felt a whole body chill pass through him, that was how he knew that Hades was still trying to get his attention.
For what purpose, and what end he didn't know, as Annabeth had said, the god couldn't be trusted. But for a moment, (Y/N) thought back to the gut feeling he had, to follow the clues, to find Hades, in the hopes he would aid them in finding Nico.
In that moment's pause, the slightest hesitation, the building that most could have easily have mistaken for a monster, almost seemed to act on it's own, (Y/N) was frozen in shock as he saw it happen.
The floor beneath DOA began to crumble away, splitting the ground until it sat floating above a twenty foot long crevace, from the depths of the crack in the earth came the screams of the dead, beckoning him, telling him to follow them.
He had only seen something like this before on very few occasions, and he of all people knew that there were only two people alive who could have done this. But just as it threatened to swallow him, to drag him down into Hades domain, he was pulled free of the vision.
Percy clapped him on the shoulder, "Let's go!" He warned, and (Y/N) nodded towards him, as he turned back though, before he could even muster up the strength to close the fissure, (Y/N) found the out of place building was gone.
Annabeth's POV
Annabeth and Zoe were trying to cheer up Hazel. Annabeth had just finished the story of (Y/N) almost skateboarding his way into Tartarus, Zoe was regaling her with Percy's greatest Seaweed Brain moments, when Frank stumbled down the hall and burst into her cabin.
"Where's Leo?" he gasped. "Take off! Take off!" The girls shot to their feet. "Where's Percy?" Zoe demanded. "And the goat?" Frank grabbed his knees, trying to breathe. His clothes were stiff and damp, like they'd been washed in pure starch. "Where's (Y/N)?" Annabeth asked.
"On deck. They're fine. We're being followed!" Annabeth pushed past him and took the stairs three at a time, Hazel right behind her and Frank trailing, still gasping for air. Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted.
Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome." (Y/N) was leaning against the mast of the ship. But unlike the others, he was drenched, as though he had just jumped into a pool. "Why are you wet?" She asked in concern
"I'm not." He said as he was surrounded by fire, a green blaze swelling all over his skin. Steam shot off his body, accompanied by a hissing sound, once it died down he was bone dry, and smiled at Annabeth.
"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked as they embraced, "Yeah, I'm just not waterproof like gills, we gotta get out of here." She nodded, but wrinkled her nose when she hugged him, "By the gods you smell awful."
"Long story. Aquariums have a lot of chemicals" He said as Leo, Piper, and Jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs. "What? What?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"
"Followed!" Frank yelled again. "Followed by what?" Jason asked. "I don't know!" Frank panted. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!" Annabeth wanted to strangle the guy, but she wasn't sure her hands would fit around his thick neck.
"That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you'd better get us out of here." Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm. Soon the Argo II was rising into the sky. Annabeth manned the aft crossbow.
She saw no sign of pursuit by whales or otherwise, but (Y/N), Percy, Frank, and Hedge didn't start to recover until the Atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance. "Charleston," Percy said, hobbling around the deck like an old man.
Zoe was holding him, her arm draped around his neck as she looked at him worriedly, he still sounded pretty shaken up. "Set course for Charleston." "Charleston?" Jason said the name as if it brought back bad memories. "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"
Frank unzipped his backpack and starting bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs." Annabeth forced herself to stay calm. "How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack."
They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!"
(Y/N) told his side of the story next, explaining all he could about his encounter with the janitor who could have killed him, but something didn't add up. "Why do you think your dear friend 'Thomas' let you go?" She asked.
"It sounded to me like someone told him to, or more specifically, told him not to kill me. Like he had orders. He purposely kept me away from the others, so did the woman, what was her name Catherine?" "Keto."
"Yeah her, she ignored me the moment she saw me, she seemed in a hurry to separate me from the group. But the way Thomas spoke, it was like he was scared, like it was a peace offering or something."
"Him attacking me, I don't think it was like the other two, they were doing it for the pleasure of it, but he seemed to have a purpose, he didn't hurt me, not really, it was as if he was doing it to protect himself and the others. He even apologized."
"How nice of him. You could have died." He scoffed, "Me? Die? In an aquarium. I'm better than that" Annabeth tried to show him that she was being serious. But he shrugged it off, "You worry too much."
He said that, but Annabeth knew her boyfriend, she knew his tells and his mannerisms, he was worried about something, he was just trying to play it off "-We all know I'm dying at the age of seventy four in my sleep, after an afternoon of hiking." He said.
"Probably around two fifty two AM, give or take a few minutes..." They all stared at him, the mood of the room suddenly a bit drearier. The way he had said that so confidently, like it was a fact set in stone, was unsettling, even to Annabeth. "What too specific?"
Frank stared at him intently, "You know how and when you're going to die?" "Well, yeah. It's kinda my thing." "What about us? Do you know how we're all going to die?" Leo asked, as Frank side eyed him, "You? Fiery explosion most likely." (Y/N) smirked at Leo.
"How impressive." Jason said sarcastically, before (Y/N) pointed at him in turn, "You, blonde hair, blue eyes and a reckless abandon...my guess is...surfing accident." He spoke almost seriously, right until the end when he broke
With a laugh that startled them he finished with "Guys I'm kidding. I made it up...trying to diffuse the tension. Nobody knows when people are going to die but the fates. Not even my dad really. Now let's get back on topic."
When Percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, she understood why he seemed so upset. "That's terrible," she said. "We need to help them." "We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..."
He shook his head. "Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on our heads." Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique.
Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "A bounty on our heads...as if we didn't attract enough monsters already." "Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"
Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about?" "Just curious how much I'm going for these days," Leo said. "I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy, (Y/N), or Jason, maybe...but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"
"Hey!" Frank complained. "Personally, I think you're about even." (Y/N) said, followed by "And I don't think we should really be worried about this, monsters and Gaea's people were going to try and kill us either way. Bounty or no bounty."
A fair point, "Yeah, but I need to know who they're gunning for first." Leo said, "Why so you can hide behind them?" Frank muttered, "Probably me, seeing as I'm no doubt worth about four hundred Leo's." (Y/N) exclaimed proudly.
Annabeth sighed into her hand, "Knock it off," Zoe ordered. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map." Piper leaned against the control panel. She'd done her braid with white feathers today, which looked good with her dark brown hair.
Annabeth wondered how she found the time. Annabeth could barely remember to brush her hair. "A map," Piper said. "But a map to what?" "The Mark of Athena." Percy looked cautiously at Annabeth, like he was afraid he'd overstepped.
She must have been putting out a strong I don't want to talk about it vibe. Because (Y/N) glanced at her with a frown, which was a fairly uncommon thing to see, the worried expression he wore when he was trying to stay calm earlier began to cross his face again.
The two locked eyes and without a word they both knew, each of them was hiding something, they would have to talk about this. "Whatever that is," Percy continued. "We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."
"The giants' bane," Hazel added. Percy nodded. "And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue." "Um..." Frank rolled his not-exactly-Chinese handcuffs between his fingers.
"According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?" Everyone looked at Annabeth. Her scalp tingled, as if the thoughts in her brain were agitating to get out: a statue...Athena...Greek and Roman, her nightmares, and her argument with her mom.
She saw how the pieces were coming together, but she couldn't believe it was true. The answer was too big, too important, and much too scary. She noticed Jason studying her, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and didn't like it any more than she did.
Again she couldn't help but wonder: Why does this guy make me so nervous? Is he really on my side? Or maybe that was her mom talking.... "I—I'm close to an answer," she said. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston...have you been there before?"
Jason glanced uneasily at Piper, though Annabeth wasn't sure why. "Yeah," he admitted. "Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."
"The what?" Piper asked. "Whoa!" Leo said. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that." "It was designed by Roman demigods," Jason said. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes—until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."
Hazel crossed her arms. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say...not cool?" "Yeah man...Not a good look." (Y/N) added, shaking his head.
Jason put his hands in front of him, palms up. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." He looked sheepishly at Hazel.
"Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking." Hazel stared at him. Slowly it seemed to dawn on her that he was apologizing. Jason elbowed Leo. "Ow!" Leo yelped. "I mean, yeah...bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."
Hazel pursed her lips. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check that submarine again?" Jason shrugged. "Well...I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley—that's one of them."
"It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside." "I'll go," Leo said. "That sounds cool." Jason nodded. He turned to Frank, who was trying to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs.
"You should come too, Frank. We might need you." Frank looked surprised. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium." "You did fine," Percy assured him. "It took all four of us to break that glass."
"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason said. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."
Frank gulped. Annabeth remembered Percy's comment about Frank turning into a giant goldfish, and she resisted the urge to smile. She would never be able to look at the big guy again without seeing him as a koi.
"Okay." Frank relented. "Sure." He frowned at his fingers, trying to pull them out of the trap. "Uh, how do you—?" Leo chuckled. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."
Frank tugged again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh. Frank grimaced with concentration. Suddenly, he disappeared. On the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to an empty set of Chinese handcuffs.
"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo said dryly, doing his impression of Chiron the centaur. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas." Everybody busted out laughing.
Frank turned back to human, picked up the handcuffs, and shoved them in his backpack. He managed an embarrassed smile. "Keep those things away from me." (Y/N) said firmly to Frank, who just gave him an odd look.
Leo began to grin, Annabeth knew that grin, she had become accustomed to it during the process of building the Argo II and she knew that in most cases it didn't end well, as Leo looked between (Y/N) and Frank's backpack, Annabeth offered some advice.
"Leo, don't." Annabeth said strictly. Unfortunately that made the boy's eyes gleam with evil intentions as he pulled some things from his belt. Soon he held a finger trap This one was more crudely made, a Leo prototype. "Leo, seriously. Don't!" She said.
"Anyway," Frank said, clearly anxious to change the subject. "The museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?" Jason's smile faded. Whatever he was thinking about, Annabeth could tell it wasn't pleasant.
"Yeah," he said. "The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there...with Reyna..." He glanced at Piper, then rushed on. "We saw something in the park." "
A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—she said she should try it alone."
"Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her." Everyone waited. "What did it say?" Annabeth asked. "Reyna wouldn't tell me," Jason admitted.
"But it must have been important. She seemed...shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that." "Ghost lady? Dibs." (Y/N) said, raising his hand.
Annabeth glared at him, "Not like that, I just mean I'd rather go there and chill with a ghost than walk around some old museum" "No, you better go with the others, we don't want to turn the ghost hostile." Zoe reasoned, he frowned. "Fine I'll walk around the stupid museum."
"But If I get chewed on by another lion Nightshade, I swear to the gods, I am never forgiving you, and for the record. I'm keeping the pelt this time." Percy and Zoe gave him a knowing look and nodded.
Annabeth considered what to do. After their experience with the eidolons, she didn't like the idea of approaching a ghost, especially one that changed people with bad news or prophecies.
On the other hand, her mom was the goddess of knowledge, and knowledge was the most powerful weapon. Annabeth couldn't turn down a possible source of information. "A girls' adventure, then," Annabeth said. "Zoe, Piper and Hazel can come with me."
All three nodded, though Hazel looked nervous. No doubt her time in the Underworld had given her enough ghost experiences for two lifetimes. Zoe looked at her own fist, like she wondered if she could punch a ghost.
Piper's eyes flashed defiantly, like anything Reyna could do, she could do. "So that's settled." Annabeth turned to Leo, who was studying his console, listening to Festus creak and click over the intercom. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"
"Good question," he muttered. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight." Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman?" Leo rolled his eyes.
"No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—" "Which would be a very bad idea," Jason said, "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."
"I have no issue with that, I'll go fight some birds." (Y/N) said, "You sound like Hedge." Percy commented. "I've got another idea," Leo said. "If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours."
"But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—"
Hazel started to protest, but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry." "It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel said. "After today, four more days. Then he dies." "I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."
Hazel scowled. "When you say should have enough..." Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough?" Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. "Sounds about typical for us."
Annabeth decided to take that as a green light. "Okay, Leo. What kind of decoy are we talking about?" "I'm so glad you asked!" He punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly pressed the A button on his Wii controller really, really fast.
He called into the intercom, "Buford? Report for duty, please." Frank took a step back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?" "Oh my gods you weren't kidding about that?" (Y/N) looked at Annabeth in shock.
A puff of steam shot from the stairwell, and Leo's automatic table climbed on deck. Annabeth hadn't seen much of Buford during the trip. He mostly stayed in the engine room. (Leo insisted that Buford had a secret crush on the engine.)
He was a three-legged table with a mahogany top. His bronze base had several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. Buford was toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of his legs. He clattered to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.
"This is Buford," Leo announced. "You name your furniture?" Frank asked. Leo snorted. "Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?" Buford spewed steam.
He stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off. "A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"
"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo said. "I hope you don't mind, Frank." Frank choked. "What?" "It'll throw the eagles off our scent." "Those were my only extra pants!" Leo shrugged. "I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will."
He rubbed his hands and grinned. "Well! I call that a good day's work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"
(Y/N)'s POV
(Y/N) needed to talk to Annabeth, he held back on his story to the others, not mentioning Hades trying to contact him, or the DOA records that nobody else seemed to see. Knowing that it would have complicated things, especially for Hazel.
But seeing it had made him positive that he was not overreacting, and that the god was reaching out to him. Now he knew it was a genuine lead towards a possible solution, not just him hoping that he had found one.
DOA being there wasn't just a coincidence and it wasn't a warning, it was an instruction, he could almost hear the god he hated most speaking to him, "Come see me. We have much to discuss."
But there was something he hadn't told anyone, not even Annabeth, in truth, he was happy she was rejecting Hades as an option, because in all honesty, it scared him. Seeing an entrance to the underworld here reminded him of something from his past.
The elevator, the elevator to the top of Mount Olympus, that was the longest he had ever taken, the hardest journey he ever made, towards his death. The thought of it alone made him shudder.
The same feeling he felt that day was the one that gripped him when he saw DOA, it wasn't just the fear of not taking the right path, or hurting the seven in some way, it was much more selfish than that.
It was the fear that if he did go into the underworld, if he did speak to the lord of the dead, however reluctantly, would he be able to return? He hadn't really thought about it before.
He had laughed about it with the others, making up silly little scenarios, making death seem like a far away concept, when in reality, to him it felt like it was more feet away from him at the time.
It had hit him like a truck. This was it, this was all he had left. He couldn't die again, otherwise, he wouldn't get to return, he wouldn't get to see Annabeth again, or be with his friends. No matter how the civil war played out.
For the first time in what felt like years, after facing and experiencing it, after everything he had been through, he was still afraid of it. That made him feel powerless, as though nothing had changed after all this time.
Looking back, the signs were all there, that unconscious fear he held from the moment he returned, it had gripped him. From day one, he was reluctant to return to the underworld, because he was scared of staying there.
He refused to contact Hades, even when he thought it was his mission, he hadn't visited any of his family, nor told any of them of his return, because they resided in the underworld, even in his dreams he was reluctant to visit the cave of Hypnos.
Even when he went searching for the entrance, in order to close it, he couldn't find it, he couldn't bring himself to, because then it would be real, then he would be one step closer to dying again.
For a few minutes, he sat there, trying to come to terms with his old, but new fear, telling himself that he would never let that happen, that he had fought too hard for this life to lose it, but that wasn't what pulled him out of the downward spiral he found himself in.
Something else had grounded him, reminded him that he wasn't going to die, not yet, in one moment, he forget the sense of mortal dread he felt or his fear of dying welling up in him again, right now, he had some far more pressing concerns.
There were sticky notes in his room. He was gone for maybe a couple of hours max, and there was a grand total of twenty six in his room. The worst part was, none of them made sense, none of them seemed like a complete thought.
Which meant he had to do the one thing he hated most, reinforce his girlfriends terrible habit. Taking his time to collect the paper and put them in his pocket, so that he could give them to her when he next saw her.
After all, for all he knew these little squares of paper could have been instrumental to their survival, or could hold the key to beating Gaea, so as much as he wanted to, he couldn't discard them.
Even though, in the back of his mind he knew Annabeth would take one glance at each of these papers, go 'huh' and then throw them away, and that every time she did it a tiny part of his soul would shatter, he had to collect them.
Pulling them from the bathroom mirror, the walls, the doorframe and his desk, he neatly assembled them together, trying to discern if there were any noticeable pattern among them. But he only found a string of words.
He didn't know it at the time, but he had just uncovered something very important, the accursed little squares of paper that he stuffed in his pocket, that was what led him to uncover her secret.
At the time though, he was far from caring, he exited his room in a fluster, looking at the time, he wondered if she was catching an early snack before dinner, or as she called it, 'brain food' which was just her excuse to snack relentlessly.
What he found instead was Hazel and Piper talking to each other over the table, trading stories, with Jason beside them, head down, snoozing, across the room Zoe and Percy sat together away from them, practically intertwined like snakes, whispering to each other.
Part of (Y/N) wanted to go get Coach Hedge, point to them and let him go off like a wind up toy, after all, if he and Annabeth couldn't be together, why should they be free to? But lucky for them, (Y/N) was no snitch, and they were very cute.
He was just about to ask the others if they had seen his girlfriend, when Leo walked up to him, "Hey (Y/N), I wanted to show you something, on the deck, if you don't mind. I've been working on something special for you."
He kind of wanted to tell Leo to beat it, but in the interest of rebuilding the bridge he had once burned with his violent outbursts, and the thought of his new and improved pistol in the back of his mind, (Y/N) said, "Sure!" It was a terrible mistake.
Annabeth's POV
(Y/N) had taken a shower and was now being closely guarded by Hedge to prevent him from sneaking into Annabeth's room. Which left Annabeth with nothing to do in the evening except stare at her computer.
She'd brought Daedalus's laptop with her, of course. Two years ago, she'd inherited the machine from the greatest inventor of all time, and it was loaded with invention ideas, schematics, and diagrams, most of which Annabeth was still trying to figure out.
After two years, a typical laptop would have been out of date, but Annabeth figured Daedalus's machine was still about fifty years ahead of its time. It could expand into a full-size laptop, shrink into a tablet computer, or fold into a wafer of metal smaller than a cell phone.
It ran faster than any computer she'd ever had, could access satellites or Hephaestus-TV broadcasts from Mount Olympus, and ran custom-made programs that could do just about anything except tie shoelaces.
There might have been an app for that, too, but Annabeth hadn't found it yet. She sat on her bunk, using one of Daedalus's 3-D-rendering programs to study a model of the Parthenon in Athens.
She'd always yearned to visit it, both because she loved architecture and because it was the most famous temple to her mother. Now she might get her wish, if they lived long enough to reach Greece.
But the more she thought about the Mark of Athena, and the old Roman legend Reyna had mentioned, the more nervous she got. She didn't want to, but she recalled her argument with her mother.
Even after so many weeks, the words still stung. She tried not to dwell on it, but she still felt it looming over her, like she was being watched even now, waiting for her to make the decision that she was putting off.
A knock on her door made her jump. She hoped it might be (Y/N), but instead Frank Zhang poked his head in. "Um, sorry," he said. "Could I—?" She was so startled to see him, it took her a moment to realize he wanted to come in.
"Sure," she said. "Yes." He stepped inside, looking around the cabin. There wasn't much to see. On her desk sat a stack of books, a journal and pen, and a picture of her dad flying his Sopwith Camel biplane, grinning and giving the thumbs-up.
Annabeth liked that photo. It reminded her of the time she'd felt closest to him, when he'd strafed an army of monsters with Celestial bronze machine guns just to protect her—pretty much the best present a girl could hope for.
Next to it was her collection of photographs taken with (Y/N), only five in total, though they meant the world to her. It was one of those reels of pictures you can buy at malls from a photobooth.
They had found one outside a movie theatre in Manhattan, on one of their blissful Friday afternoons before anything bad really happened. She was very fond of these pictures. They were among the few pictures she had of them together away from Camp, away from demigod life.
Though she'd be the first to admit they weren't the most charming photos. They were pulling odd faces in the first two, shoving into each other and fighting to take up the entire camera screen in the third, laughing together in the fourth.
Finally, because (Y/N) insisted, they did the cheesiest thing in the world and kissed in the last one. This was one of the reels they had taken, (Y/N) kept the other, though not in his wallet, which he had a habit of losing.
After he died, she forgot she had them, which was unlike her, it was only when she was clearing the stuff from her bunk to bring onto the Argo II that she had recovered them, they were buried in her desk drawer, where she had thrown them in a fit of sadness and anger.
Now they sat proudly atop her desk, so she could glance over at them as she worked and remember simpler times, though that was far from easy these days, it provided some comfort when she needed it.
Hanging from a hook on the wall was her New York Yankees cap, her most prized possession from her mom. Once, the cap had had the power to turn its wear er invisible. But it's power had been dwindling.
A few days ago, it stopped working entirely, the cap had lost its magic. Annabeth wasn't sure why, but she'd stubbornly brought it along on the quest. Every morning she would try it on, hoping it would work again.
So far it had only served as a reminder of her mother's wrath. Otherwise, her cabin was bare. She kept it clean and simple, which helped her to think. (Y/N) didn't believe it because she always made excellent grades, but like most demigods, she was ADHD.
When there were too many distractions in her personal space, she was never able to focus. "So...Frank," she ventured. "What can I do for you?" Out of all the kids on the ship, Frank was the one she thought least likely to pay her a visit.
She didn't feel any less confused when he blushed and pulled his Chinese handcuffs out of his pocket. "I don't like being in the dark about this," he muttered. "Could you show me the trick? I didn't feel comfortable asking anyone else."
Annabeth processed his words with a slight delay. Wait...Frank was asking her for help? Then it dawned on her: of course, Frank was embarrassed. Leo had been razzing him pretty hard. Nobody liked being a laughingstock.
Frank's determined expression said he never wanted that to happen again. He wanted to understand the puzzle, without the iguana solution. Annabeth felt strangely honored. Frank trusted her not to make fun of him.
Besides, she had a soft spot for anyone who was seeking knowledge—even about something as simple as Chinese handcuffs. She patted the bunk next to her. "Absolutely. Sit down." Frank sat on the edge of the mattress, as if preparing for a quick escape.
Annabeth took the Chinese handcuffs and held them next to her computer. She hit the key for an infrared scan. A few seconds later a 3-D model of the Chinese handcuffs appeared on the screen. She turned the laptop so that Frank could see.
"How did you do that?" he marveled. "Cutting-edge Ancient Greek technology," she said. "Okay, look. The structure is a cylindrical biaxial braid, so it has excellent resilience." She manipulated the image so it squeezed in and out like an accordion.
"When you put your fingers inside, it loosens. But when you try to remove them, the circumference shrinks as the braid catches and tightens. There's no way you can pull free by struggling."
Frank stared at her blankly. "But what's the answer?" "Well..." She showed him some of her calculations—how the handcuffs could resist tearing under incredible stress, depending on the material used in the braid.
"Pretty amazing for a woven structure, right? Doctors use it for traction, and electrical contractors—" "Uh, but the answer?" Annabeth laughed. "You don't fight against the handcuffs. You push your fingers in, not out. That loosens the braid."
"Oh." Frank tried it. It worked. "Thanks, but...couldn't you have just shown me on the handcuffs without the 3-D program and the calculations?" Annabeth hesitated. Sometimes wisdom came from strange places, even from giant teenaged goldfish.
"I guess you're right. That was silly. I learned something too." Frank tried the handcuffs again. "It's easy when you know the solution." "Many of the best traps are simple," Annabeth said. "You just have to think about it, and hope your victim doesn't."
Frank nodded. He seemed reluctant to leave. "You know," Annabeth said, "Leo doesn't intend to be mean. He's just got a big mouth. When people make him nervous, he uses humor as a defense."
Frank frowned. "Why would I make him nervous?" "You're twice his size. You can turn into a dragon." And Hazel likes you, Annabeth thought, though she didn't say that. Frank didn't look convinced. "Leo can summon fire."
He twisted the handcuffs. "Annabeth...sometime, maybe could you help me with another problem that's not so simple? I've got...I guess you'd call it an Achilles' heel." Annabeth felt like she'd just had a drink of Roman hot chocolate.
She'd never really gotten the term warm and fuzzy from anything like this, maybe a few more intimate moments, but Frank gave her that sensation. He was just a big teddy bear. She could see why Hazel liked him. "I'd be happy to," she said. "Does anyone else know about this Achilles' heel?"
"(Y/N), Percy and Hazel," he said. "(Y/N), he didn't...tell you, did he?" Annabeth shook her head, "He may not act like it most of the time, but he's mature when he needs to be, he would never betray your trust like that."
Frank nodded, but seemed relieved, "(Y/N)...he's a really good guy. I would trust him with anything. Thought you should know." Annabeth patted his arm. "Yeah, he's a saint..." She said teasingly.
Frank laughed, but Annabeth reassured him. "Frank, you can trust anyone on this ship. Even Leo. We're all a team. We have to trust each other." "I—I suppose." "So what's the weakness you're worried about?"
"Maybe...maybe later," he said. "It's hard to talk about. But thanks, Annabeth." He held up the Chinese handcuffs. "Keep it simple." The dinner bell sounded, and Frank jumped.
The magic that kept Annabeth's room quiet died down a little so she could finally hear what was above her. A sound she would have recognised anywhere, one that brought her endless headaches. "I'm going to kill him." She thought.
"Get it off me! Get this thing off me right now!" They heard the shouts from above them, as well as several crashes and Leo groan in pain. Annabeth sighed, "I warned him. Does nobody ever listen to me?" There was a tiny moment of silence, followed by "GET IT OFFF!"
She and Frank both exited her room and began walking towards the top deck when they heard a voice proclaim several threats of death, stringed together with a tirade of greek curses and shouts of frustration and genuine rage.
"GET IT OFF RIGHT NOW OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" (Y/N) roared. They heard laughter from several people, followed by the pounding of footsteps, then a series of painful sounding crashes approaching them.
They turned their heads to cringe as they witnessed (Y/N) tumble down the stairs headfirst, wailing and wriggling his hands as he did, even biting at the trap. He pulled and twisted, Everything Frank had tried, but his desperation made it seem like it was a matter of life or death.
For a few seconds he contorted on the floor like he was wrestling an eel. Annabeth had a both bleak and beautiful moment of internal dialogue with herself in which she came to terms with the fact that the guy trying to gnaw through his own finger on the floor, was her boyfriend.
Then he saw the two of them staring at him. "Cut it off, cut it off!" He said as he sped towards them. "The trap or your finger?" Frank said with concern in his voice, backing up a little bit from the deranged idiot who was probably trying to will himself into becoming an iguana.
"YES! The trap! Fingers with it if you need to! I don't care just hurry!" He said, pressing into Annabeth's side and trying to take her knife with only the grip of his pinkies. "Careful." She said as he almost cut himself on the sharp edge.
She facepalmed and then held his hands, calming him down and doing the same steps she had explained to Frank, and the trap simply fell to the floor. Once he was released. (Y/N) sighed with relief and gawked at her.
"How did you do that?" He asked with wonder, like she had just solved the meaning of the universe, she loved it when he looked at her like that. A little flutter arose from her chest that brought a smile to her face.
Annabeth didn't answer and just patted his head, looking at Frank, she giggled, "See, you're not the only one. There's a trick to it." Frank smiled at her. As (Y/N) crushed her with a hug, she told Frank she thought it best to leave them to it before (Y/N) started weeping.
With another thankful smile to Annabeth, Frank joined the others upstairs. He wasn't as embarrassed by it now, and the others were more concerned with laughing at (Y/N) falling down the stairs. That and Leo, who was tied to the mast of the ship, upside down.
Frank walked off with a small smile on his face. "Ok, you can stop now." Annabeth said, "He's gone." (Y/N) released their hug. Smiling, he picked up the chinese finger trap, sighed merrily, then spiked it onto the floor and stomped on it repeatedly.
"That was nice. But still, you don't think falling down the stairs was a little much?" She asked. He shrugged. "I'm a good method actor, what can I say?" He tried to play it off, but she knew that part of it was a genuine reaction. Not just for Frank's sake.
She kissed him on the cheek anyway. "We should talk after dinner." He wrapped his arm around her as they walked to get their food, for a wonderful moment, it almost felt like they were back home again.
(Y/N)'s POV
Their talk wasn't a pleasant one, though that is how it started, after they returned from dinner, (Y/N) promised Hedge that he and Annabeth were going to talk about the quest in her room, no more, no less.
He huffed a little, but seem to know they weren't lying, because he allowed it, 'just this once.' Once they were inside her room, Annabeth sat at her desk and (Y/N) crashed onto her bed, "What did you want to talk about?" She asked instantly.
He sighed, he had hoped that they could ease into this, but Annabeth insisted to him that he was hiding something, and reminded him of his promise that there would be no more lies between them.
He spent the next few minutes describing what he saw as he fled the city, and the feeling he kept getting, she frowned deeply. "What do you want to do?" She asked him, he sighed once more. "I want to ignore it, but we both know I shouldn't." He said tiredly.
"If you go and talk to him, what do you think he'll say?" "Probably bargain for me to try and get Nico back, remember part of my prophecy, 'abandoning deepest hate' or whatever."
"But if I do go, I doubt Hades would be forgiving of what I did to him, he will probably ask me to stay in the underworld after this is all over, same as last time." Annabeth grit her teeth, the thought making her angry. "Is it worth it?" She asked, he could do nothing but shrug.
"I don't know, the wine guy's the alternative, and he said it himself, it's going to be a huge sacrifice." Annabeth looked at him. "So you're going to ask me if we should choose to possibly sacrifice you, or risk the others making a sacrifice that we don't know about yet."
He didn't want to say it, but nodded. "Well, you know my answer." Annabeth said, getting teary eyed. "You know what I'll choose." He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug, she didn't have to say her answer.
"I know that Annabeth, but like I said, no more lies, no more hiding the truth." She nodded into his chest, "I'm not saying I'd ever do it. You know I'd burn the world before ever letting you go again." He said into her ear.
"You'd better not do it again." She said suddenly. "I swear I'll dump you quicker than you can say 'the fates' if you do." He laughed. "Is that why you were angry with me when we first met back up?"
"Why would I be angry with you for that?" She asked, "I left you alone again..." He said quietly. She shook her head, "No idiot, I wasn't mad at you for that, it was something else." "What?" He asked back.
Annabeth's POV
She rolled her eyes and told another story. After discarding the coin, she was punished for it, or so she thought. She became sick, bedridden, unable to join the others. Until she was attacked, and the curse placed upon her was broken.
She didn't remember it very clearly, she was so feverish at the time half of it felt like a dream, but she did remember the intense conversation she had before the moment. As she fought to go with the others.
"I'm going with you!" "Not in that condition you're not." Jason reasoned as she glared at him. "I have to! You have no idea how long-" "-Annabeth, I know, I get it, I'm just as eager as you are to go there, but I can't."
"You can barely walk." He said as she sat up from her bed. "But I have to be there, I'm part of the seven. I-" "-We're on a deadline, I'm sorry, but you can't come." Annabeth's eyes burned with anger, her body would have too, but it was too cold to do so.
"Please, just let me go." She argued. Jason's lips pursed, his jaw tensing. She could tell he was as reluctant to do this without her as she was to stay at the camp. But before the decision had to be made, someone solved the issue.
Lou Ellen came into the room, explaining her plan, to allow Annabeth to recover there at the camp, with Chiron's healing, and then to use a magic circle to anchor her to the ship, so she could be there when it landed.
It was an excellent compromise, but it was rendered a moot point by what happened within the next few hours. As Lou Ellen was explaining the process to her, and likening it to the pearls Poseidon once let them use, an alarm rang through the camp, a conch shell blew in the distance.
Both girls shot up, but Lou Ellen shook her head, "Stay here." She demanded, before leaving the room and barring it closed with magic to protect Annabeth, not that it mattered.
It didn't stop at the door, the wooden frame was ruptured and turned to splinters, that was when she first saw it in her doorframe, the floating imposing ghostly figure.
It was perforated with countless arrows, spears were lodged in it's chest. But in a sickening moment, it saw her and smiled. Magical binds sprung from the floor, trapping it at the torso, but the figure didn't care.
It didn't speak, but in an odd way, she recognised it, she shook in horror as it pulled itself forward, and the magical binds put there by Lou Ellen sunk deeper and deeper into it's flesh.
Nothing happened, it didn't care, even as another of Chiron's arrows hit it in the spine, it just stared at her, at her neck. It was at that moment she understood why it was so familiar, she recalled the shadow that overtook (Y/N).
This was the same creature that almost killed her after Silena's death, the same creature that had almost dropped her from the sky, choking the life out of her as it did so. It had found her again, even going through the entire camp to do so.
In it's final moments, it was going to kill her, she could see it in it's eyes, something in them were so similar to ones she had seen before, on one of the worst days of her life, the feeling crept back into her chest.
Her heart suddenly lurched as it lunged at her, she grasped her knife in defence of herself, but it was too late, the claws almost passed by her faced, if it wasn't for the spear sprouting from the ghost's chest.
The spirit was lifted free of the ground and impaled further into the wall beside her, she gasped and looked over at the person who saved her, only to find someone she least expected, someone she thought to be dead.
Well, more dead. "Terry?" She said in shock as the spectre that hung over her dissolved, falling away from the spear into nothingness. "My Lady." Terry bowed. "What are you doing here?"
"My duty!" He proclaimed, "What?" "Before he died my master gave me a task of upmost importance, to be carried out in his absence." He explained, "Before he died. You mean (Y/N)?" Annabeth said, her adrenaline pumping.
"You mean he's dead now?" She misunderstood. "No, my lady, before the end given to him by the fates, he made me swear on my pride as a warrior that if ever Annabeth chase, or any member of the chase family were in mortal danger, I should defend them with my life."
" He said 'No matter what happens, they remain safe. Any threat, any monster.' He said that I must be willing to defend you at any cost. For as long as you may live."
Just thinking about it made Annabeth's blood boil, Lou Ellen put it best as she ran into the room, looking at the remains of the monster. "Looks like your boyfriends got some explaining to do." She said.
(Y/N)'s POV
"You hired a ghost bodyguard to stalk me for the rest of my life after you died?" She said, suddenly, the seriousness of her story was entirely undercut. Though not the message of it, he had some explaining to do.
"Okay, it sounds bad when you put it like that. Also, it wasn't just you, it was your family too-" "-That makes it worse!" She said, he tried to think of a way of spinning this, "I personally think it's rather romantic."
"Yeah, for serial killers!" She snapped. He sighed, "I'm sorry okay, I was worried you'd get hurt or something. And I know you're going to say the same thing, about how you weren't made of glass and stuff. But your family is!"
"If anything, your story just proves my point, without Terry there, you could have died." "Because of a monster YOU MADE!" She shouted, "Yep, pretty ironclad argument there...Uhhh...sorry?"
She shook her head, "You are such a weirdo, I honestly can't believe I fell for you." She said with a smirk, "Oh I can absolutely believe it." He countered, bringing out his previously bought gift at just the right time.
"Because I get you stuff like this!" He brought out the gift he had purchased after fighting the cyclopi with Frank. She saw it and facepalmed, "Bribery now? You think that'll help you?" "Uhhh...yes?"
She punched him in the shoulder. Laughing a moment afterwards. "You're lucky I love you, or I swear to the gods I would have had Terry impale you." "Don't threaten me with a good time." He winked.
"Jerk." She said, putting her gift aside, "You're helping me with it." She demanded, "And get yelled at for another twelve hours? No thanks." He pouted. "It wasn't optional. You owe me." "Why?" "Because you do."
He pulled her into another hug, "Fine I guess I do." They stood there for a few more moments, enjoying the comfort each of them provided, (Y/N) was going to leave shortly after that, leaving Annabeth to rest and clear her thoughts, but a thought pulled him back.
He remembered, "Oh, you dropped these." "Did I?" She smirked, wiping her eyes as she pulled away. He handed her the notes and she looked them over, saying "Huh" Every so often, but one by one she looked trough them and discarded them into her trash.
As she did, a few words caught (Y/N)'s eye, he didn't know how he focused on them now but not earlier, but he asked Annabeth as she crumpled a note "What does 'Mom's coin tied to prophecy? Key to Rome.' mean?"
Annabeth's POV
"Oh, it's..." She began to say that it was nothing, but trailed off, reminded of what (Y/N) had just promised her, that they would hold no more secrets back from each other. "It's about the Mark of Athena."
With a deep breath to prepare herself, she explained what happened to her the last time she saw her mother. She explained why she thought that chasing after the mark of Athena may have been the ravings of a madwoman.
Annabeth had been riding the subway back from the Upper East Side, she had just dropped Zoe off after visiting Percy's mom. During those long months when Percy was missing, Zoe and Annabeth made the trip at least once a week.
Partly to give Sally Jackson and her husband Paul an update on the search, and partly because Zoe and Sally needed to lift each other's spirits and convince one another that Percy would be fine.
Zoe had opted to stay with Sally and Paul for the night. Mostly because she found herself too exhausted to travel. Annabeth had no reason to deny her that comfort. She knew how much Zoe needed it at the time.
She had reason to hope Percy was alive, since Hera's plan seemed to involve sending him to the Roman side, but she couldn't be sure where he was. (Y/N) had already left to join the Romans, but nobody had heard from him since.
Jason had remembered his old camp's location more or less, but all the Greeks' magic—even that of the campers of Hecate's cabin—couldn't confirm that Percy was there, or anywhere. He seemed to have disappeared from the planet.
Rachel the Oracle had tried to read the future, and while she couldn't see much, she'd been certain that Leo needed to finish the Argo II before they could contact the Romans. But that was all Annabeth could think of doing.
To be reunited with (Y/N) again, was like a dream to her, but after that portal opened, she felt like she had been rudely awakened again, back to the same reality where they were pulled apart again.
Annabeth had spent every spare moment scouring all sources for a way to contact (Y/N), she had talked to nature spirits, read legends about Rome, dug for clues on Daedalus's notebook, and spent hundreds of golden drachmas on Iris-messages to every friendly spirit, demigod, or monster she'd ever met, all with no luck.
That particular afternoon, coming back from Sally's, Annabeth had felt even more drained than usual. It wasn't until weeks later that she would find out why, it was only after she confronted that monster that her curse was lifted.
Finally Annabeth took the Lexington Avenue subway down to Grand Central. There were other ways to get back to her high school dorm from the Upper East Side, but Annabeth liked going through Grand Central Terminal.
The beautiful design and the vast open space reminded her of Mount Olympus. Grand buildings made her feel better—maybe because being in a place so permanent made her feel more permanent.
She was just about to make her way out when she saw Athena studying the subway map on the wall. "Mother!" Annabeth couldn't believe it. She hadn't seen her mom in months—not since Zeus had closed the gates of Olympus and forbidden all communication with demigods.
Many times, Annabeth had tried to call on her mom anyway, pleading for guidance, sending up burnt offerings with every meal at camp. She'd had no response. Now here was Athena, dressed in jeans and hiking boots and a red flannel shirt, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders.
She held a backpack and a walking stick like she was prepared for a long journey. "I must return home," Athena murmured, studying the map. "The way is complex. I wish Odysseus were here. He would understand."
"Mom!" Annabeth said. "Athena!" The goddess turned. She seemed to look right through Annabeth with no recognition. "That was my name," the goddess said dreamily. "Before they sacked my city, took my identity, made me this."
She looked at her clothes in disgust. "I must return home." Annabeth stepped back in shock. "You're...you're Minerva?" "Don't call me that!" The goddess's gray eyes flared with anger. "I used to carry a spear and a shield. I held victory in the palm of my hand. I was so much more than this."
"Mom." Annabeth's voice trembled. "It's me, Annabeth. Your daughter." "My daughter..." Athena repeated. "Yes, my children will avenge me. They must destroy the Romans. Horrible, dishonorable, copycat Romans."
"Hera argued that we must keep the two camps apart. I said, No, let them fight. Let my children destroy the usurpers." Annabeth's heartbeat thumped in her ears. "You wanted that? But you're wise. You understand warfare better than any—"
"Once!" the goddess said. "Replaced. Sacked. Looted like a trophy and carted off—away from my beloved homeland. I lost so much. I swore I would never forgive. Neither would my children." She focused more closely on Annabeth.
"You are my daughter?" "Yes." The goddess fished something from the pocket of her shirt—an old-fashioned subway token—and pressed it into Annabeth's hand. "Follow the Mark of Athena," the goddess said. "Avenge me."
Annabeth had looked at the coin. As she watched, it changed from a New York subway token to an ancient silver drachma, the kind used by Athenians. It showed an owl, Athena's sacred animal, with an olive branch on one side and a Greek inscription on the other.
The Mark of Athena. At the time, Annabeth had had no idea what it meant. She didn't understand why her mom was acting like this. Minerva or not, she shouldn't be so confused. "Mom..." She tried to make her tone as reasonable as possible.
"I need your help. (Y/N) has already gone over to them-" She had started to explain Hera's plan for bringing the camps together to battle Gaea and the giants, but the goddess stamped her walking stick against the marble floor.
"Never!" she said. "Anyone who helps Rome must perish. If you would join them, you are no child of mine. You have already failed me." "Mother!" "I care nothing about this boy. If he has gone over to the Romans, let him perish."
"Kill him. Kill all the Romans. Find the Mark, follow it to its source. Witness how Rome has disgraced me, and pledge your vengeance." "Athena isn't the goddess of revenge." Annabeth's nails bit into her palms. The silver coin seemed to grow warmer in her hand.
"Something is wrong with you. What's happened?" "Rome happened!" the goddess said bitterly. "See what they have done, making a Roman of me. They wish me to be their goddess? Then let them taste their own evil. Kill them, child."
"No!" "Then you are nothing." The goddess turned to the subway map. Her expression softened, becoming confused and unfocused. "If I could find the route...the way home, then perhaps— But, no. Avenge me or leave me. You are no child of mine."
Annabeth's eyes stung. She thought of a thousand horrible things she wanted to say, but she couldn't. She had turned and fled. She'd tried to throw away the silver coin, but it simply reappeared in her pocket.
As she told the story, (Y/N)'s eyes scanned the floor, as if he were trying to decipher the mystery himself. "I'll be honest with you, I still don't get it." He said calmly, that eased her nerves a little, the fact that even if he didn't understand, he would listen.
Even now, sitting in her cabin aboard the Argo II explaining all that had happened to her, she could feel the coin growing warm in her pocket. She stared at the model of the Parthenon on her computer screen and thought about the argument with Athena.
Phrases she'd heard over the last few days swirled in her head: A talented friend, ready for her visitor. No one will retrieve that statue. Wisdom's daughter walks alone. She was afraid she finally understood what it all meant. She prayed to the gods that she was wrong.