Annabeth was completely exhausted. The camp had been doing no stop training for the war since after the first battle came to camp. It was almost never-ending it seemed, seven to six every day, with a break for lunch that was about it, though Annabeth had to admit that the campers were a lot better than they had started out, it was still exhausting for everyone, even those who had been at the camp the longest, like her. She knew that there was a reason for it, but still, eleven hours a day, a little excessive maybe.
As she got ready to head to bed, she thought about what was occurring around her. She had been happy the last five years with Jason, even if she didn’t know that he wasn’t happy with her. She had run the camp to the best of her abilities, and it seemed like the camp had been doing better. She never looked back on her decision to kiss Jason, even if it had hurt Percy, though she never imagined that the gods would force him out of camp. The one thing that she did regret was the fact that Piper had been banished too. She hadn’t thought about what would happen if someone tried to stand up for Percy. For that reason, and that reason only, she was mad at Nicolas, even if he was dead. She had liked Piper, and they had had a great relationship, especially after their experience Asclepius, and she had no idea that Piper would side with Percy, though it made sense to her now. Just like Piper and she, Piper and Percy had become good friends after the war, and just like Percy, Piper was loyal to those she was friends with. Annabeth right now wished that she could apologize to Piper, but didn’t know if she was even alive, and Annabeth hated not knowing.
Then everything changed when Polaris and Ivory showed up. They showed up with the Hunters, so it seemed like they were on good terms with them, and Artemis told the campers that they were here to help in a upcoming war. At first, Annabeth was fine with that, as they didn’t cause a problem, but that went away soon, as they proved to her in their first day at camp that she did not control them, especially after the accident with Ivory. That made her a little mad at them, as she had had control over almost every person in camp, and could get them to do anything, and Annabeth took pride in that, and pride was her fatal flaw. It bothered her to no end that the two mysterious people actually were, as Polaris and Ivory couldn’t have been their real names.
Then the thing with Jason happened. She noticed him hanging out with Polaris and Ivory an odd amount, and began to worry, though she didn’t think too much about it. They played capture the flag, and that is when her whole world changed. Jason had apparently been talking with Polaris and Ivory about over throwing Annabeth, and somehow, Annabeth hadn’t noticed it. Then Jason broke it off with those simple words. “It is over” He had said. It was only a few days later that she realized what that actually meant for her. It meant that when she had a bad day or just needed someone to talk to, there was now no one that she could go to for those things, no one that she could fully confide in, and trust, and to say that she missed that was an understatement. Now, she wasn’t the leader of the camp anymore, and so didn’t have as much power as she did before, though she didn’t miss that as much as she missed having someone to confide in, but she missed having responsibilities to do.
Her mind was working overtime with all of these thoughts, and after a few moments, she decided that she just needed to go straight to bed, so without getting changed or even taking her hair down, she fell into bed, and as soon as she hit the pillow, she fell asleep.
Annabeth felt herself enter a dream, and immediately, she became worried that she was in danger. She could feel the power radiating off something or someone in her dream, but could not find anyone. She was standing inside what seemed to be a house, standing in the foyer. The house wasn’t anything special, except for the ceiling. The ceiling seemed to open right up to the night sky, and she could see millions of stars floating in the inky blackness.
“I see you enjoy the view.” A voice said behind her, a hauntingly familiar voice. Annabeth whipped around, pulling her dagger out as she did. She expected to turn around and find someone there, but she saw no one, no one that is until someone stepped out of the shadows. She gasped when she saw the face. Those eyes had haunted her dreams for the last five years, and the mischievous smile that she used to love had given her the chills whenever she thought about it. Standing in front of her, was none other than Percy Jackson. She was absolutely terrified of the look that he was giving her, as it was somewhere between a smirk and a glare.
“What do you want?” Annabeth said, trying to sound brave, but at this moment, she was anything but brave. She had kicked this man out of his home, and now he was back, and his very presence seemed to leak power, as if he was a primordial. Percy smirked.
“I see that you are afraid of my presence, good.” He said, his lips curving into a smile. He glowed for a moment, and Annabeth turned away, even more scared now, knowing that he was a god. When she looked back, she almost fell down in surprise. Instead of Percy, she was now looking at a beautiful woman. She had pitch black hair, with eyes to match. She was dressed in a long black dress, and the air around her seemed to shimmer with power.
“Don’t worry Annabeth Chase, I am not Peruses Jackson. You should be glad that I am not. He has become quite a warrior in his time away, and you would not want to meet him.” She said rather cryptically. “How is your camp doing?” She asked. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Percy was not standing in front of her anymore. While she did not regret what she did, she still had nightmares about him, and the last view of his face that she saw, one full of hurt and sadness. Annabeth decided that she should probably answer the goddess’s question, who ever she was.
“F-Fine.” She managed to stutter out. The goddess looked at her sympathetically.
“You have nothing to be afraid of, I am not here to hurt you, in fact quite the opposite, I am here to help you. “ The goddess said. “At your camp, you used to be the leader, correct?” She asked, receiving a nod from Annabeth, who was still wary.
“And that ended when those two other beings arrived. Correct?” She asked, again receiving a nod. “I am sorry to tell you Annabeth, but they have deceived the camp, and even the gods. They are not who they tell you they are, they are working for the other side. They left when you needed them, right before an attack, did they not. They are traitors. If they return, they must not be allowed to live, as they will destroy the camp. You must get rid of them, if you don’t, your worst fear will come back, as he is working for the other side.” She said. Annabeth was shocked, but she could see the logic in that, as Polaris, Ivory and the new one, Night, had left right before an attack on the camp, and they had turned the camp against her. She knew what the fear that this goddess was talking about. She was terrified of Percy Jackson returning, and she would do anything to stop that from happening. She nodded her head, agreeing with the goddess.
“Good,” the goddess said, “When you wake up, there will be a blade on the bed stand to your left, that knife will kill the three blessed of Chaos within minutes. Use that to get rid of them. I swear on the River Styx that they are not who they tell you they are. Get the other campers to help you, and you will not have to face your worst fear.” In the distance, thunder rumbled, though it seemed off, but that was not a concern of Annabeth’s at the moment. Annabeth nodded, and all her doubts were cleared up when the goddess swore on the River Styx. She knew what she had to do, and would do it to the best of her ability, so that she could save the camp, and save herself from her worst fear.
“Good bye, Annabeth Chase, I know that you will follow what you think is right, and this is the right path.” The goddess said, before she vanished, along with the house that she was in, and Annabeth felt herself waking up. She opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming though her window. She turned to her left, and sure enough, sitting on her bed side table, was a sword made of pitch black metal, that was even darker that Stygian iron. She gripped the handle, and felt the safety of knowing that she was going to save the camp. The only problem now was getting the rest of the camp to agree, but she knew exactly how to do it, by using facts, a child of Athena’s forte. Annabeth got out of bed, and began to wake up her step siblings, before explaining what she had dreamt about.
<-><-><->
Percy, Piper and Zoë raced out of the forest towards the camp, only for Percy to run smack into a crying Reyna. The two of them fell right to the ground, with Percy on top. When Reyna saw Percy, she immediately stopped crying, and gave him a huge hug.
“Where have you guys been?” She asked
“We were talking in the woods, why is everyone shouting for us?” Percy asked, confused. Reyna gave him an interesting look.
“You guys have been gone for almost a full day, and no one could find you. Diana stopped by and asked to speak with you, but we told her that we couldn’t find you guys, and she became really worried. We have been looking for hours.” Reyna said. Percy, Piper and Zoë shared a look, after all, they had not known that they had been gone for so long. Zoë finally spoke.
“Reyna, what did Diana say?”
“She said that she needed to talk to you guys, something was happening at Camp Half-Blood, something big. She asked me that if we found you, to iris message her.” Reyna replied. Percy nodded, and fished around in his pocket for a second, before pulling out a drachma. He concentrated and a mist appeared in front of them, catching the sun perfectly for a rainbow to form. Percy threw the coin into the mist, and spoke.
“Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Artemis, most likely on Olympus.” The rainbow shimmered, before Artemis appeared, shooting at a target on Olympus.
“Artemis!” Zoë shouted. Said goddess turned around, and promptly fired an arrow at the Iris message, causing the group on the other side all to duck. Artemis noticed who it was, and her face showed that she was relived.
“Polaris, Ivory, Night, where were you guys?” she asked.
“Were were talking in the forest, and then fell asleep, we didn’t think that we were gone for that long. Oh, and Reyna knows.” Piper responded. Artemis looked relived that they weren’t in any danger, and also surprised that Reyna knew their identities, but chose to ignore it.
“You guys need to get to Camp Half-Blood. Something is going on, and you need to get back there. I can’t go there with you, nor do I know what is happening, but something is definitely going on. The campers are training really hard, harder than usual. “She said, her urgency becoming clear. Percy nodded,
“We will leave right away, thank you Artemis.” He said, and Artemis nodded. She swiped through the Iris message and it disappeared.
“You guys go get ready, it has been good seeing you again, and don’t disappear this time, I’ll tell Leo what happened.” Reyna said, giving each of them a hug.
“Good bye Reyna.” The three of them said in almost perfect harmony. They walked back to the barracks, and grabbed their belongings that they had accumulated, before gathering together to flash to Camp Half-Blood together. They all grabbed hands, and Percy flashed them to the Big House. When they got to Camp Half-blood, it was eerily quiet. No one seemed to be around the big House, not even Chiron. The lights at the pavilion were on though, so the three of them walked towards the Pavilion, dropping their stuff of at the Artemis cabin, as they had been staying there. The three of them walked to the pavilion, none of them saying anything. Percy and Piper were holding hands, and Zoë walking next to them, all with small smiles on their faces.
As they approached the pavilion, they heard voices inside, though one was more prominent than the others, and the three of them recognized it as Annabeth’s voice, causing all of them to scowl, none more than Percy. As they approached, they could hear what she was saying, and they stopped in their tracks.
“When they come, I need you guys to hold them down, and then we can get rid of them. You have all heard what I saw; it is the best option for the camp. They are traitors.” She was yelling, causing multiple cheers, but also some shouts of disagreement, but the ratio was definitely in favor of the cheers. Percy, Piper and Zoë all shared a look of worry. They could recognize the voices of those who were disagreeing, and they were the ones that they told who they actually were. None of the shouts or cheers was distinguishable at the moment though.
It was obvious that Annabeth was talking about them, and it seemed as if she got information that they were traitors, and that didn’t settle well with Percy and Piper, as it was not the first time they had been called traitors. Zoë knew that Percy and Piper were having trouble at the moment, so she grabbed both of their hands, and looked them directly in the eyes.
“Do you remember what I said in the forest? I will stick by you no matter what. No matter what they, or anyone else thinks, I will be by your side. Of you, you are not alone, you have each other and you have me. Is that clear?” She said, her voice taking on that of a stern commander, a voice that she had perfected after years of being a lieutenant. Percy and Piper looked at each other, and then looked back at Zoë, smirking. They let go of each other’s hands, and in almost perfect sync, they both saluted to her.
“Yes ma’am.” They said, and in return, they each received a smack upside the head before they could react. They all began to chuckle quietly, before a clearing throat behind them caught their attention. Zoë turned around, Percy and Piper looking up, to find that half of the camp was staring at them, most with looks of determination on the faces. Annabeth stepped forewords.
“They have finally come back, and it is time for my revenge, oh blessed of Chaos.” She said, her voice dripping with venom at the word blessed. “Now!” She shouted, and the group of campers rushed forewords. Before Percy, Piper or Zoë could have a weapon out, they were pinned to the ground, all three of them, with multiple people pinning them each to the ground. They were all face down, not being able to see who was pinning them down. They could all tell though that they were not in a good spot at the moment. Zoë sent a silent distress prayer to Artemis, knowing that she would respond if she did it.
Annabeth knelt down next to Percy, and turned his face towards her. “Polaris, do you know what this is?” She asked, holding up her new dagger. Percy looked at the sword and his eyes widened. He recognized the sword, and it brought back memories of excruciating pain in his midsection. He more specifically recognized the point of the sword, as it was the only part of the blade that he saw when it was embedded in his midsection.
“Ahh, you do. Well, this is the sword that you will die by today. I have intel that says you are traitors, and for that crime, you will die.” Annabeth said, slightly relishing in the fear that was radiating from Polaris.
Sadly, Piper and Zoë recognized the blade too, and they started to struggle against those who were holding them down, at this moment panicking and not thinking about using their powers, but as soon as they realized it, their hands were cuffed wit celestial bronze cuffs, making escape impossible for them. They struggled so much that Annabeth noticed and smirked, putting the blade to Percy’s right shoulder.
“I would stop struggling you two, or your friend here will experience more pain than he would have.” Annabeth said, smirking, while pressing the blade more and more into Percy’s shoulder. Piper and Zoë stopped struggling. Annabeth smirked, and started to talk once again.
“For treason against the gods, and conversing with the enemy, you are sentenced to de-” Annabeth started. Midway through the sentence, a sliver arrow flew from behind her, and imbedded itself in Annabeth’s arm, knocking the sword out of her hand. Annabeth stumbled forewords, tripping over Percy. From her spot on the ground, she turned around, to meet a furious goddess of the hunt. Artemis snapped her fingers, and Annabeth was bound in celestial bronze chains, while Percy, Piper and Zoë restrains disappeared. Artemis turned back to Percy to see his face a deathly shade of white. Artemis knew of the injury that he sustained in the battle for Camp Jupiter, as she had visited him, trying to wake him up, and when she looked at the blade that Annabeth was using, she understood why he was that shade of color, as it was the same blade.
"Zoë,” she said quietly, “Take Percy and make sure that he is okay, I will deal with Annabeth, just make sure he is okay.” Zoë walked over to Percy, and grabbed him, along with Piper, and took them to the Artemis cabin, before Artemis turned on Annabeth and the rest of the campers, her face contorting into one of extreme annoyance, along with extreme rage.
“Now, What. Do. You. Think. You. Were. Doing?” She asked.
A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading. I have started to write a novel, and right now, that is taking up alot of my writing time, so please bear with me while I work on that. Updates for these stories will come out, just not as often. Also, I just got word today that i got accepted for a position at a local sandwhich shop, so that will take up even more time. I hope you understand.
Thanks,
PiersonNyx