Chapter 13
Annabeth
Another Chapter! In less than two weeks! :o Anyway-
Colin: I have something to say
Me: Shut it! I'm talking!
Colin: But-
Me: Not now!
So this next chapter took me a while and I didn't want to make it too long so that' why I cut it off, but the next one will be up soon. On with the story!
Annabeth stared in awe at the mess that lay in front of her. She’d beaten Percy in the race he had instigated, and she planned on waiting for him in the kitchen. But as she looked around, she decided that maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Jason was on the ground scrubbing the floor with a sponge while Piper was tossing out, what were those? Muffins?
“Morning Annabeth,” Jason said without looking up.
“Uh what-”
“Happened?” Jason finished. “Piper tried to make breakfast.” Annabeth stifled a laugh and Piper looked up glaring.
“Oh, come on Piper,” Annabeth teased, “I was just kidding.” Piper blew a piece of hair out her face.
“Yeah, I know. Not your fault. Leo’s the one who came in here and hit Jason in the head with a muffin,” Piper said.
“As I recall, that was you who launched a burned pastry at my head,” Jason smiled.
“Well it wouldn’t have hit you if Leo hadn’t ducked.” Upon further notice, Annabeth did notice a slight purple bruise on Jason’s forehead. Muffins as weapons, she thought. Who knew? Annabeth heard Percy coming running up the stairs and thought it was the perfect opportunity to teach him to never try and race her. She took one step to the side until she was leaning on the side of the door frame and Froom! Percy came flying through the doorway, losing his grip on the floor as he skidded along the coating of flour on the ground.
“What the!” he yelled. He threw his arms in the air trying to regain balance, but they were of no use because in seconds he went crashing into the counter, taking a whole bottle of opened orange juice down with him. Percy landed on his back and sent a plume of flour dust into the air. Annabeth, Jason, and Piper all busted out laughing instantly.
“You..know…hahaha…we should market breakfast foods…as weapons!” Piper said in between laughs. Percy sat up and glared daggers at Annabeth, who looked back innocently, trying to hide a smirk.
“Oh so that’s how you wanna play it, huh?” Percy said. The way he spoke would’ve been intimidating if it weren’t for the orange juice dripping down off of his hair. He hopped up, grabbed the bowl of flour, and began throwing it at Annabeth. She didn’t dodge quickly enough because soon her curly blonde hair was completely white. She grabbed the nearest bowl and began flinging pancake mix in every direction, and that included hitting Jason and Piper.
“Whoa!” Jason yelled. “Watch it, man! I’m an innocent bystander in all of-” A sudden glob of mix hit him smack in the face. “Oh that so tears it!” He ducked and looked around for any kind of “weapon” but all he saw was a carton of eggs. Perfect! He grabbed the whole container and threw them in random directions hitting Annabeth, Percy, and (though he’ll never admit it) Piper as well. Annabeth laughed as she avoided a flying egg. She hadn’t had this much fun since Percy had left! She flung more pancake mix and was aiming for Jason, who was about to sneak out the doorway. She aimed perfectly, but Jason ducked out of the doorway and the mix hit the side of the wall. Annabeth saw Frank and Hazel standing in the door way, looking like they’d just seen a ghost.
“Frank? Hazel?” Percy said as he stood up behind the counter. He must have lost his grip again because the next thing Annabeth knew, her boyfriend’s feet were in the air and he was once again on the ground. She busted out laughing again, but once she saw the look on Hazel and Frank’s faces, she knew something was seriously wrong.
“What happened? Is everything okay? Percy asked as he stood up, now concerned. Annabeth watched as Hazel looked at Percy with sad eyes, and then to Frank.
“Oh no,” Percy whispered. Either both Hazel and Percy had some kind of telepathic powers, or she was seriously missing something.
“Can I please ask what’s going on?” Annabeth interjected.
“Come,” Hazel said, “We need to talk.”
Two minutes later they were all seated, minus Leo, in the main living room around a small coffee table. Frank and Hazel on one couch, Piper and Jason on the other, and Percy and Annabeth had taken the armchairs.
“So, uh, what’s on your mind, Hazel?” Percy asked, although it pretty much sounded like he knew what was coming. Annabeth hated when he did that: when he knew something important but didn’t bother telling her until it was too late. Just one of the things she learned to get used to while dating him.
"Has anyone seen Leo?" Jason asked.
"We'll fill him later, Jason, let's listen," Piper said, putting her hand on his. He nodded and turned towards Hazel.
“Well, I think it’s time to come clean. About everything. And I mean everything,” she said, looking at Frank. “So, I guess I’ll start. I’m not actually a teenager. I mean, I am, and I look and act like one, but, I should really be dead right now.” Annabeth looked at her with confusion.
“Um, Hazel, I don’t mean to interrupt, but, we’re demigods, after the stuff we’ve been through, we kinda all should be dead.”
“No,” Hazel continued, “It’s something different. First off, whenever I get nervous or scared, or you know, well-” and just as she spoke something came flying through the window and Hazel caught it in her hand instantly. “Yeah, this happens.” She showed everyone about a baseball sized nugget of gold.
“Hazel!” Piper said. “That’s amazing! Where did you learn to do that?”
“Well, you see, that’s the thing, I didn’t learn it, I was born with it.” Annabeth listened as Hazel told the tale of her life in the 1940s, how she should be dead, how she and her mother had nearly went through with Gaea's plan. Annabeth felt suspicion everytime Hazel mentioned someone named "Sammy", because she would look at her feet and start fidgiting. She decided to let it go though, and let Hazel finish. The beginning didn't take too long, but then they got to the part where she died. Frank helped fill in the parts Hazel stayed rather quiet about. Like refusing Elysium to save her mother from the Fields of Punishment.
"So I stayed there, and I couldn't really tell for how long. Everything just seemed...hollow. Things blended together. And the next thing I knew Nico...Well Nico came to get me. He said he was looking for his, well I guess rather, our, half-sister, Bianca. But she'd already chosen to be reborn. So Nico saved me, gave me another chance at life."
"And that's why you want find him so badly, right?" Piper said. Oh, right, Annabeth thought, Piper knew what it was like to have someone she loved in danger due to Gaea's greed.
"Yes," Hazel said, "And if we don't get him back, I...I don't know." Frank squeezed her hand.
"I guess it's my turn," Frank began. "Well, for one I can transform into basically any animal I want." Annabeth sat in astonishment. What did he say?
Frank laughed. "Yeah, a bit of a surprise, Long story short, I was born with the gift because I'm a Legacy of Poseidon." Then his expression became more serious and he looked at Hazel. "The reason I was acting, uh, weird is because...well my life...well it...it, it's part of, like connected to, it kinda relies on a piece of wood. A stick."
"A stick," Annabeth couldn't help but say.
"Yes, a stick. Let me explain. When I was a baby Juno visited my mother. She said that I would be 'very powerful', or something, but picked out a piece of wood from a the fireplace. She said if it were to ever burn entirely that I would, well, die, along with the wood." No one said anything "So yeah."
"Frank," Percy said, finally breaking the silence, "Where is it now?"
"That's the problem, Percy, "I don't know."
"It's gone? How can it be gone?"
"Well, uh," Frank looked to Hazel, obviously needing some help.
"Frank had given the stick to me, for safe keeping. Last night, each of us had dreams and Gaea spoke to us." She explained how she'd seen herself crying over Frank's bed, how Nico had warned her to stay away. "When we woke up, the stick was gone."
Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. How could something that inmportant just disappear? Unless...Unless someone had stolen it. No one she knew on this ship could've done that, could they?
"Do you have any idea where it could be?" Jason asked.
"No. Not at all. One minute I had it in my nightstand, the next, it's gone." Hazel suddenly found her shoes as the most interesting thing in the world.
"Do you think it could've been misplaced?" Annabeth asked.
"No," Frank said firmly, "Hazel never let her eye off of it."
"So then, could someone have taken it?" Piper chimed in.
"No, I mean, I don't think-" But Frank's expression suddenly went blank. He sat there, not moving.
"Frank?" Hazel said. "Frank?!" She began shaking him, but he wouldn't come out of it.
"What's happening to him?" Percy said standing up.
"I-I don't know. Frank! Snap out of it!" Hazel started to raise her voice. And then like that, he was back, looking pale and in shock. His just was heaving, like he was struggling to breathe.
"What happened?" Hazel demanded.
"I think I saw, I- the vision,"Frank stuttered. "I just saw Leo, I mean, I think I did, he was, he had my stick."
"What?"
"He was in his room and he put it into his drawer or something, In another nightstand, I think." His eyes were wild and he hopped up off the couch and started through the door. Hazel raced in front of him.
"Frank you can't just go barging in. What you saw-"
"I saw what I saw, Hazel," Frank said. Annabeth was surprised at the tone in his voice. He brushed passed Hazel and stormed down the hallway. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper all hopped up and followed in close pursuit. Annabeth was directly behind Hazel as they neared Leo's room. Frank banged on the door while Hazle tried to pull him back.
'Leo!" Frank yelled. "Leo!" Annabeth was taken aback. Something definitely was not right. This didn't sound the the Frank Zhang she knew. To her surprise Frank took a few steps back and rammed the door like it was nothing. Annabeth saw Leo shoot up out of bed, sleepy-eyed and obviuosly really confused.
"What?" Leo said, rubbing his eyes.
"Where is it?" Frank asked impatiently.
"What are you talking about?" Leo yelped when he saw everyone in his room. "What the heck? What's going on!"
"I know you have it! Where is it?" Frank began tearing apart Leo's room, searching for his stick.
"What are you doing? Dude that was my favorite backpack! Not the closet! I hand-carved that!" Leo hopped out of bed, clearly fed up.
"Stop! What is your problem?" Leo grabbed Frank's shoulder, but he just turned around and shoved Leo to the ground.
"Frank!" Hazel screamed. She ran in front of him, trying to intercept.
"This is insane! What's wrong with him?!" Jason yelled. Annabeth was just as confused.
"Frank look at me. You need to calm down." Hazel held Frank's face in her hands, and for a split-second, Annabeth saw Frank's eyes flash pure white, and then return to normal. Apparently Hazel saw the same thing, because she took a step back and gasped.
Frank tore open the top drawer of the nightstand and to Annabeth's surprise, he pulled out a piece of wood, just like the one he'd described.
"What's this?" Frank said as he held the stick in front of Leo, who was currently being helped up by Jason.
"Leo?" Annabeth asked. "Where did you get that?"
"That piece of wood? You can't be serious right? The stupid thing tripped me on my way in here. I moved it out of the way!" Leo said obviously very, very confused. This sent Frank into a complete rage.
"You think my life is stupid!? Worthless?!" Jason stood in front of Leo to stop Frank from advancing. Then Frank's eyes turned Completely white, and he spoke in a deep menacing voice.
"Foolish heroes! Did I not warn you! This quest will bring only sorrow and pain! Stop now and no one shall be hurt. But should you continue, you will all perish! You will not prevail!" And with the last word, Frank collapsed to the ground. Hazel ran to his side and bent down next to him.
"Okay," Leo said quietly, "Can someone please tell me what is going on?!"
Hazel looked up from Frank. "I think that's what we'd all like to know."
And done! Yeah so next chapter will be up soon. Hopefully. Anyway. I think I'd be able to type faster if I got ten comments? :) Yes? No? Anyway Chapter 15 is gonna be, ah, different. I almost cried writing it, so I'm saying now: DON'T MURDER ME BECAUSE THEN I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CONTINUE WRITING!
Colin: Hey
Me: WHAT?!
Colin: I'm just telling you: that was a brilliant chapter
Me: Really?
Colin: Sarcasm!
Me: I'm going to kill you
Colin: Oh please Just finish telling the people about your story
Alright guys comment, vote, and be awesome! Thanks!