Glimpse of Us - Joji
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THEY LANDED AT CRISSY FIELD AFTER NIGHTFALL.
As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew... you shot... oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"
Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."
"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you get those?"
"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you... left."
Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. Y/N noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say ran away.
"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little experiment."
He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. Y/N could understand why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an excellent mad scientist at heart.
"Dad..." Annabeth faltered.
"Guys." Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds.
Annabeth, Y/N and Percy ran over to help, but there wasn't much they could do. There was no ambrosia or nectar, and no regular medicine would help. It was dark, but Y/N could see that Zoe didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.
"Can't you heal her with magic?" Y/N said to Artemis. "I mean... you're a goddess."
Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."
She tried to set her hand on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.
"Have I... served thee well?" Zoe whispered.
"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."
Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."
"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."
But in that moment, Y/N knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway.
She saw Thalia and took her hand.
"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters."
"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, about everything..."
"Perhaps not all heroes," Zoe murmured. She smiled weakly at Percy and Y/N. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"
He couldn't speak, but he brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "You are different, Percy Jackson. You are fiercely loyal and honest. I am happy to have fought alongside you on this quest. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honoured that you carry this sword."
A shudder ran through her body.
"Zoe—" Percy choked.
"And Y/N." She turned to the demigod, who was blinking back tears. "You are brave and fierce, and nothing like the other men I have encountered. Both you and Percy have proven that. I'm sorry-" She wheezed out a cough. "I'm sorry we fought."
"It wasn't your fault." Y/N whispered. "I was... angry and confused. I should have never acted the way that I did." Zoe smiled, before looking back to Artemis.
"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."
A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."
"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.
Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders. Y/N watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.
Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.
For a moment there wasn't anything different. Then Annabeth gasped. Looking up in the sky, stars were brighter now. They made a pattern Y/N had never noticed before—a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow, running across the sky.
"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."
.
.
.
It wasn't easy saying good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made Y/N a little nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, they would disintegrate by looking at her.
"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."
The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."
Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes.
Then she turned to Y/N and Percy.
"You two did well," she said. "For men."
She mounted her chariot, which began to glow. They averted their eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.
"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."
Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I... I'm sorry that—"
"Shh." He hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you." His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.
There was a whoosh of large wings. 4 pegasi descended through the fog: two white winged horses, a brown one and one pure black one.
"Blackjack!" Percy called. The Pegasus whinnied in response. "It was rough," he admitted. The Pegasus stared at Y/n and the rest of them suspiciously. "Nah," Percy said aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast." Blackjack snorted. "Don't worry, he's not going." Percy said, glancing at Dr. Chase. The professor was staring open mouthed at the pegasi.
"Fascinating," he said. "Such manoeuvrability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"
The black Pegasus cocked its head.
"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr. Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade—"
"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.
Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear, I know you must go."
He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As she turned to climb aboard the pegasus Guido, Dr. Chase called, "Annabeth. I know... I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."
Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.
They all mounted the pegasi. Together, they soared over the bay and flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind, with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.
.
.
.
Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on her Pegasus's back. She didn't have much to worry about, but just in case, Percy and Blackjack flew up alongside her, just in case.
Annabeth and Y/N flew along side by side.
"Your dad is pretty cool," he admitted.
It was too dark to see her expression. She looked back, even though California was far behind them now.
"I guess so," she said. "We've been arguing for so many years."
"Your stepmom, too. Maybe they've... gotten better since you saw them last."
She hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco, Y/N. I can't live so far from camp."
Y/N looked ahead. They flew over a town, an island of lights in the middle of the dark. It whisked by so fast the lights blurred together.
He had thought a lot while on this quest. The visit from Aphrodite. The fight with Atlas. Even saying goodbye to Zoe. But now that he had finally saved Annabeth, he had no idea what to say. He was glad it was night time, otherwise she might have seen the blush covering his cheeks.
"Well? Ask her if she still wants to join the hunters!" One half of his mind said. "And if she still looks uncertain, just put that Aphrodite heritage to use and-"
"Dude? Really? That's a dick move, toying with her feelings like that." The other half said. "If she wants to join the hunters, then she can join the hunters. It's not our decision."
"And? Aphrodite basically said that Annabeth's in love with us anyway. I bet we just have to say her name in a sexy voice, and she'll be all over us."
"That is literally the worst thing you have ever said."
"You don't want to capitalize on this? We only just found out that she likes us, and you're telling me you don't want to get closer to her?"
"I never said that. I said that we shouldn't get to decide what she does with her life. Of course, I would LIKE it if she actually-"
"Y/N!" Annabeth exclaimed. Y/N blinked a few times, shaking his head.
"Huh? What?"
"You zoned out a bit there." She smirked at him, earning an embarrassing look from the male demigod.
"Sorry. Just you know... thinking..." Y/N mumbled. He glanced back to Annabeth, trying for a smile. It worked. "What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "But thank you for rescuing me."
"No biggie."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You didn't believe I was dead?"
"Never." Y/N said. "Same with, you know... Luke. I mean... he isn't dead."
Annabeth stared at him strangely. "Y/N, that fall was pretty bad. There's no way—"
"He isn't dead," Y/N insisted. "It's a feeling. The same way I knew about you."
That comparison didn't seem to make Annabeth too happy.
The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was a glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray. And up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before them—the lights of New York.
Percy's flying horse whinnied. "You're the man, Blackjack," Percy told him. "Er, the horse, I mean."
"You don't believe me about Luke," Y/N said, "but we'll see him again. He's in trouble. He's under Kronos's spell."
Annabeth just sighed. "If you say so."
"There it is." Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."
"What's started?" Percy asked.
High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.
"The winter solstice," Thalia said. "The Council of the Gods."
A/N: Y/N still believes in luke lol
dumbass