Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson franchise as I am not Rick Riordan. Common sense, people. Not that hard.
Camp Half-Blood, August 8th
Annabeth's PoV( 1st)
It's been two days since the battle, and Percy still hasn't woken. Of course, I hadn't been able to see him in all this time. I still wasn't allowed into the "pocket-dimension" they had rolling for them.
But, I did have a plan. After all, Athena always has a plan.
Of course, it was a little ill-formed, but it was a plan nonetheless.
"You say we just sneak in there?" Thalia criticized.
Maybe very ill-formed.
I sighed, knowing it would be hard to convince them.
"Well, we'd need a disguise, but we NEED to get in there. Percy, he's... he was injured bad. And I was still awake. I don't even want to know what's happened to his psychological state." I insisted.
Clarisse snorted. "Please, Prissy's ego will be fine."
Why is she here again? Nevermind that! Percy!
I stood up, fully addressing the group that consisted of the Seven, Thalia, Grover, Nico, and Clarisse.
"Listen, you might have heard what Travis said. Fifteen days for us is fifteen years for them. Percy himself told me it had been thirty years for him. He... He's changed. Whether it's a lot or a little, he's still changed, but he's also still Percy. After what we did under the influence of that spell, I wouldn't be surprised if his ego is easier to wound. Well, easier than it had been before, that is." I explained.
"If he's that bad, it makes sense we can't see him." Nico sighed. "As much as I feel we should, Chaos seems pretty scary."
I growled, startling the son of Hades. "You don't understand, we need to see him! I, at least, need to know that he's alright! He stood there and confronted Order and was hurt and mocked! We need to see him! And now that he's out to us officially, you guys can all see him too!"
The group stared but slowly started nodding.
"Wow, what a powerful speech." A voice we all recognized said. "But, there's an issue."
"N-Noah..." I stuttered out. "What, uh, brings a soldier to the Big House?'
He sighed. "Chaos sent me to make sure you don't try anything..."
We all froze, unsure of what would happen next.
"Which is Chaos code for help you sneak in," Noah said, honestly looking bored out of his mind.
I gulped, regaining my leader demeanor. "So, you're here to help us, then? You'll let us see Percy?"
He cringed. "Jeez, hold your excitement. It's a weird sensation to feel on someone else."
Jason spoke up. "Why are you always saying that?"
Noah looked shocked? "Saying what?"
Thalia snorted. "You're always commenting on our emotions. When you first arrived, you immediately knew that everyone was sad."
The black-haired boy shrugged. "It's an inherited gift from my home planet, I guess."
The room fell silent. "Home... planet..." Jason muttered.
Leo shot up. "Wait, dude, are you an alien?! That is so cool! How do you look like humans?!"
"You're... really an alien?" I asked.
"All of you have gods for parents and you're shocked by this?" Noah dead-panned.
I rose an eyebrow. "Good point."
Noah shook his head in exasperation. "Anyway, I guess you could call me an alien, but in reality, the Void exists as an inter-dimensional pathway. I'm not from this dimension, per say, but I'm from this universe. It's really complicated, but where I come from, most everyone can read each others emotions. Based on that, it's a law to always speak your emotions. Otherwise, those few who don't have the ability will feel bad. Also, because it was a custom passed down. You can't hide anything, so what's the point? I was raised with that mindset, so I often slip up and speak what I want to anyway."
The room stared in wonder.
"That's... so cool..." Leo muttered, pulling out a camera to snap a few pictures.
"Wait," I started. "We've gotten off-track. You said you'd take us to see Percy, right?"
Noah nodded. "Yeah. I'm the Leader of Section 2, which takes in soldiers from a certain range of places, my planet included. I have access rights to the gateway, and friends to help out."
Thalia growled a bit. "That means that Chris girl, huh?"
Noah frowned. "She has this thing about treating us as siblings. Well, she and Alex don't quite act as siblings, even Percy can see that, but she treats the rest of us that way. That argument started with you and her because, as she saw it, you called her little brother a punk. Which he acted like to prolong you discovering he was Percy. When did you find out, by the way?"
"Just before the strategy meeting. Some confirmation during it." Thalia muttered.
The soldier's eyes lit up. "That makes more sense. But nevermind that. Let's get you to Percy."
I turned and examined my friends. "Can all of us come?"
Noah seemed to understand my concern. We were sneaking in, after all. How many of us could be stealthed at once?
He shook his head. "Probably not. I can probably only take four of you in. While Chaos agrees of it, other soldiers may not."
I looked at everyone, shocked. How are we supposed to decide who gets to see Percy?
"You should go, Annabeth." Jason interrupted. "And Thalia, Nico, and Gover too. You guys were his closest family."
I smiled. "Only if you go as well. Percy might need his bro."
Jason grinned, rolling into the act. He wiped away a fake tear. "I would be honored to be there in my bro's time of need."
Leo grumbled. "Tell us how he's doing, will ya?"
I nodded. "Of course. And unlike him, I'll tell the truth about his state of body and mind."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "It's so sad that we know that's true."
Noah looked confused. "He did that all the way back then with you guys too? Huh, somethings never change."
A solemn mood once again overcame the room. "Let's uh, go."
Noah nodded, turning back to the door. "Follow me. It's getting darker, but you should still stay low."
Thalia, Nico, Grover, Jason, and I nodded, following after Noah as he left and led us through camp. I was almost surprised by how well he seemed to know his way around, but, then again, he was a soldier. Even if he seemed really lax about it, always reading and keeping his distance, it's common sense that a good soldier would familiarize themselves with their surroundings as fast as they could, analyzing ways for escape routes in case of emergency and such.
I was starting to see why Percy had found these people his friends. Noah was smart but quiet and even influenced him to read. Chris looked after him like he was a child(which, at heart, he really is), and Alex...
Well, I didn't quite know about Alex in specific, but he does seem kind and interesting.
No wonder Percy likes them so much.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I felt horrible. I shouldn't be bitter about Percy having friends. Yes, he ran away, but he was in a rough spot, and it should be good for him to have people looking out for him.
Then I remembered what he'd said back at Order's base.
"But you still did." He argued back, cutting me off. "It still happened, whether you were in control or not, I was hurt. And it happened so, so long ago."
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. "How long have you...?"
"Thirty years." He spoke softly. "It's been thirty years."
I suddenly couldn't hold myself back. I lunged, wrapping myself around him in a hug.
"I... I don't know what to say." I cried into his chest.
He seemed to falter, and his whole demeanor got softer.
"Annabeth, it's okay, I don't hate you." He reassured me, talking softly.
"You don't?" I couldn't help but ask.
He sighed and hugged me back. "No, I couldn't. I'd rather not be back at camp, that much is true, but I couldn't hate you. Thirty years ago, I was madly in love with you."
"What about now?"
"Huh? Annie, you say something?" Thalia asked.
Crap! How much did I say out loud?!
"Nothing... AND DON'T CALL ME THAT."
Noah broke his silence, letting out a chuckle.
"You and Percy were really close, huh? Even for two people in love?" He asked, though, it felt like he already knew the answer.
I looked down, walking a little faster. "I guess you could say that."
It seemed Thalia and Nico were about to comment--probably something annoying and in unison--when Noah suddenly stopped.
"We're here." He told us.
I looked up, and we were indeed in front of the door that led to the pocket dimension.
Noah turned to face us. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to put a Shadow Tail on all of you. Basically, you stick to shadows, and you'll be invisible. Mostly. Try to walk into anyone. It'll only last five minutes, though, so we'll need to hurry."
Grover made a bleating sound. "Shouldn't five minutes be enough?"
Noah shook his head. "No, it's really crunching it, actually. When Percy builds something, he goes full-out on it."
I could vaguely hear Jason whisper something about pride over-whelming him.
"Okay," I said, determination filling my voice. "Let's do this."
Noah smiled, putting his hand out in front of him. "This will feel a bit weird, so relax."
"Lux et caulas flectit ac tegit, evanescunt hinc, inquit, nos relinquere obscuratur." He spoke.
Jason whistled as Noah spoke. "Nice Latin."
I looked at him and noticed I could still see him. "Did it not work?"
Noah shook his head. "No, it worked. Those affected and the caster aren't tricked by the spell. C'mon, we have to hurry."
To see Percy. I finished his sentence in my head. Percy's in a bad state right now. We have to see him. and we're on our way.
I'm coming, Percy.
AN: ...is "I lost track of time a valid excuse? No? I'll, uh, sit in a corner, then.
I'm really sorry I made the late so long on this one. Four months? I'D hate me. Man, I've never had writer's block this bad before.
But, I'm back now. And I'm ready to start to wind down the plot of this story. By the way, in case you were wondering, NO, I don't want to agonize everyone with a cliffhanger at every chapter; YES they will continue to be as dramatic and eluding. I can't help myself.
Thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story from the very start, and all those who have joined in along the way. I really appreciate you guys.
Yours in demingodishness, and all that, and as always, until next time! *cheesy salute*