"Annabeth LI," Leo read. His voice sounded bleak, the boy's face expressionless with only a hint of pain.
The readers sat in grim silence.
Percy swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat, body trembling. Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing her dad's college ring.
ANNABETH HAD SEEN SOME STRANGE THINGS BEFORE, but she'd never seen it rain cars. Leo gave a strained grin.
As the roof of the cavern collapsed, sunlight blinded her. She got the briefest glimpse of the Argo II hovering above. It must have used its ballistae to blast a hole straight through the ground.
Chunks of asphalt as big as garage doors tumbled down, along with six or seven Italian cars. One would've crushed the Athena Parthenos,
Athena winced.
"but the statue's glowing aura acted like a force field, and the car bounced off. Unfortunately, it fell straight toward Annabeth." Leo cringed. Whoops. "Sorry."
Annabeth grimaced, squeezing the ring tighter. It's not the worst thing that's going to happen to me.
Her stomach clenched at the thought. She fought back a shudder.
She jumped to one side, twisting her bad foot.
Athena and Will grimaced.
Percy, Thalia, and Grover winced.
Annabeth's breath hitched, her hand starting to shake. Gods, what am I going to do with a broken ankle in Tartarus? I'll practically be a sitting duck.
Percy would try to protect her, of course. But with her limited mobility, she'd be holding him back. Future Annabeth could barely stand without her ankle flaring up in pain. He might even have to carry her at some point.
Things just get better and better... Annabeth thought, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
A wave of agony almost made her pass out, but she flipped on her back in time to see a bright red Fiat 500 slam into Arachne's silk trap, punching through the cavern floor and disappearing with the Chinese Spidercuffs.
Athena couldn't help but feel some grim satisfaction in that.
She deserves it. the goddess thought with a sniff.
As Arachne fell, she screamed like a freight train on a collision course; but her wailing rapidly faded.
Percy and Annabeth shuddered, imagining themselves in her place.
The demigods around them looked equally uncomfortable. The teens fidgeted or sat stiffly in their chairs, with a haunted glint in their eyes.
All around Annabeth, more chunks of debris slammed through the floor, riddling it with holes.
The Athena Parthenos remained undamaged, though the marble under its pedestal was a starburst of fractures.
Athena winced.
Annabeth was covered in cobwebs. She trailed strands of leftover spider silk from her arms and legs like the strings of a marionette,
Annabeth felt bile rise to her throat. She gulped, digging her nails into her palm.
but somehow, amazingly, none of the debris had hit her.
Percy's tense posture relaxed to a degree after hearing that.
Good, the daughter of Athena thought tiredly. Last thing Annabeth needed was a busted ankle and a concussion, or worse, two broken arms.
She wanted to believe that the statue had protected her, though she suspected it might've been nothing but luck.
Annabeth snorted. Luck's got nothing to do with it.
The army of spiders had disappeared. Either they had fled back into the darkness, or they'd fallen into the chasm...
But none of that mattered when she heard Percy's voice from above: "Annabeth!"
"Here!" she sobbed.
Athena's face fell, she felt her heart clench.
Percy grabbed Annabeth's free hand and squeezed it.
All the terror seemed to leave her in one massive yelp. As the Argo II descended, she saw Percy leaning over the rail. His smile was better than any tapestry she'd ever seen.
Poseidon made a choked sound. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the handle of his trident.
The room kept shaking, but Annabeth managed to stand. The floor at her feet seemed stable for the moment. Her backpack was missing, along with Daedalus's laptop. Her bronze knife, which she'd had since she was seven, was also gone—probably fallen into the pit. But Annabeth didn't care. She was alive.
The same couldn't be said for Present-day Annabeth.
She froze, feeling her heart stop beating for the longest seconds in her life. The blood drained from her face, Annabeth felt her eyes begin to sting with tears.
Annabeth knew it was stupid to be sentimental over material objects. She had ran away from home and traveled so many times, she should be used to losing a few things here and there along the way. But this was different...
While Daedalus had his faults, Annabeth still held respect for the man. He was a talented inventor, who owned up to his actions. He trusted her with that laptop, it was the last surviving piece of all his ideas and blueprint designs he never had a chance to use. And now it's gone. It'll be crushed into pieces once it hits the ground in Tartarus.
And her dagger...
Luke... Annabeth blinked back tears. She tried to muffle a sudden sniffle.
She remembered when he had given it to her. It was when they first met. Annabeth had nearly bashed him in the face with a hammer. She had been scared out of her mind and thought he and Thalia were monsters. They had been so patient in calming her down. Annabeth could distinctly recall Luke's mischievous smile, when he pulled the knife from his belt and handed it to her.
"How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon?" he had asked. "This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."
Annabeth sniffled, she quickly brushed back a stray tear.
If she was going to fall in Tartarus, was there a chance she could still find it? The laptop was going to be destroyed, but she might be able to get her dagger.
First my Invisible Cap, now this. she wiped away a few more tears.
Percy, seeing her distress, squeezed her hand again. He pressed a kiss on the side of her head.
Thalia knowingly grimaced. The daughter of Zeus came to kneel by her side, she took Annabeth's other hand and squeezed it.
"It'll be okay," the hunter soothed, her words sounded hollow even to herself. Thalia rubbed small circles on the back of Annabeth's hand.
At the sound of sniffling, Leo looked up from the book. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of Annabeth in tears. For a moment, his mind went blank, at a total loss on what to say. He glanced around at the others, but they were either struggling to hold themselves together or sorrowfully watching Annabeth break down.
"Annabeth, please don't cry. Um..." Leo anxiously drummed his fingers on the book cover, struggling to think of a way to make things better. As soon as an idea came to him, he blurted out: "Hey, I know! We could transfer the information on Daedalus's laptop into a hard drive!"
Thalia perked up. "Yeah, you could keep the backup at the Camp."
"That's a good idea," Annabeth admitted with a watery, self-deprecating grin. "I probably should've thought that before."
"Well, it's not too late," Percy said gently.
"Would a hard drive be able to store all that information?" Chris couldn't help but wonder. "Doesn't Daedalus have centuries worth of data on that computer?"
"We can handle that," Leo gestured to himself and his siblings, now feeling more confident. "The Hephaestus Cabin can make a bazooka out of freakin' toaster parts. Creating a hard drive with enough space should be a piece of cake." His face suddenly lit up. "We could talk to Shane! He's good with tech stuff."
"Right," Jake forced a reassuring grin.
"Leave it to us," Nyssa told Annabeth.
The daughter of Athena's grin became a bit more genuine. "Thanks,"
Things were still tense with the wait of a certain upcoming event, but in that moment, the foreboding atmosphere felt less suffocating.
She edged closer to the gaping hole made by the Fiat 500. Jagged rock walls plunged into the darkness as far as Annabeth could see. A few small ledges jutted out here and there, but Annabeth saw nothing on them—just strands of spider silk dripping over the sides like Christmas tinsel.
Annabeth and Percy shuddered.
Their parents paled slightly.
The others stiffened.
Annabeth wondered if Arachne had told the truth about the chasm. Had the spider fallen all the way to Tartarus? She tried to feel satisfied with that idea, but it made her sad. Arachne had made some beautiful things. She'd already suffered for eons. Now her last tapestries had crumbled. After all that, falling into Tartarus seemed like too harsh an end.
Athena couldn't feel sympathetic even if she tried.
Annabeth couldn't help but wonder if Arachne would survive the fall. If she did, would the spider monster try to attack her and Percy in a fit of rage? Annabeth had only bested her after outsmarting her, and the daughter of Athena doubted Arachne could be fooled a second time.
She gulped, a heavy feeling settled in her stomach.
Annabeth was dimly aware of the Argo II hovering to a stop about forty feet from the floor. It lowered a rope ladder, but Annabeth stood in a daze, staring into the darkness. Then suddenly Percy was next to her, lacing his fingers in hers.
The readers held their breaths, waiting for the ground to suddenly fall apart under the couple.
He turned her gently away from the pit and wrapped his arms around her.
There were a few audible sighs of relief, but the apprehension was still there.
She buried her face in his chest and broke down in tears.
Percy pulled her into a one-armed hug. Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder.
"It's okay," he said. "We're together."
Annabeth's breath hitched. She blinked back tears.
"Oh!" Aphrodite exclaimed emotionally, near tears herself. The goddess frantically fanned her eyes.
He didn't say you're okay, or we're alive. After all they'd been through over the last year, he knew the most important thing was that they were together. She loved him for saying that.
That's so beautiful! the goddess of love looked up at the ceiling to keep the tears in.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a kiss.
Their friends gathered around them. Nico di Angelo was there, but Annabeth's thoughts were so fuzzy, this didn't seem surprising to her. It seemed only right that he would be with them.
Nico made a small noise in the back of his throat. As much as he wanted to hate Annabeth for having Percy, it was little things like this that stopped him from doing so.
"Your leg." Piper knelt next to her and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"
"It's a long story," Annabeth said tiredly.
She started to explain. Talking was difficult, but as she went along, her words came more easily. Percy didn't let go of her hand, which also made her feel more confident. When she finished, her friends' faces were slack with amazement.
"Why can't they have this conversation on the ship? Away from the pit?" Poseidon croaked, a pained look in his eyes. He rubbed his temples. Hades, Zeus, and the other immortals gave him sympathetic glances.
"Gods of Olympus," Jason said. "You did all that alone. With a broken ankle."
"Yup," Annabeth said shortly.
...Percy grinned. "You made Arachne weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but Holy Hera—Annabeth, you did it. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. You found the Athena Parthenos!"
"Uh-huh," Annabeth said dismissively. It's funny, she had felt so proud about it in the last chapter. She basked in the praises and happily bragged about her accomplishments. But now knowing what was about to happen, her victory felt... small. Like she had passed a pop quiz with flying colors, but still got a 'F' in her final report card. Sure she won, but Annabeth didn't have a chance to enjoy it for long.
How did we fall in the first place? She pushed away the thought as soon as it came to her.
Everyone gazed at the statue.
"What do we do with her?" Frank asked. "She's huge."
"We'll have to take her with us to Greece," Annabeth said. "The statue is powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."
Athena's frown deepened. Again, she felt a sense of wrongness about the idea.
"The giants' bane stands gold and pale," Hazel quoted. "Won with pain from a woven jail." She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it."
With a lot of pain, Annabeth miserably thought.
...Leo raised his hands. He made a finger picture frame around the Athena Parthenos like he was taking measurements. "Well, it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."
"You will not!" Athena exclaimed, affronted by the mere suggestion.
"Relax, we took care of it." Leo reassured, fighting back the urge to roll his eyes.
Annabeth shuddered. She imagined the Athena Parthenos jutting from their trireme with a sign across her pedestal that read: WIDE LOAD.
Leo forced out a small laugh.
Athena gritted her teeth, but since Annabeth said it, let it go.
Then she thought about the other lines of the prophecy: The twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the keys to endless death.
"What about you guys?" she asked. "What happened with the giants?"
"Ugh! I don't even want to think about it," Percy said with a scowl.
"That makes two of us," Nico muttered, twisting his skull ring.
Will glared at his shoes, balling his hands into fists.
Hades growled under his breath at the mention of those two bumbling idiots.
Dionysus slumped further in his throne, hoping to stay left alone.
Percy told her about rescuing Nico, the appearance of Bacchus, and the fight with the twins in the Colosseum. Nico didn't say much. The poor guy looked like he'd been wandering through a wasteland for six weeks.
"Close to it," Nico said, looking as though he were talking to his shoes instead of the others around him. Gods, he really hoped Percy and Annabeth would make it out okay.
Percy's the strongest demigod I know, he told himself, clasping his hands tightly together. If there's anyone who could handle trekking through Tartarus, it'd be him.
And he has Annabeth with him, she'll stop him from doing something stupid.
It was meant to be a light-hearted joke, but it still caused a painful sting in his chest. Nico chose to ignore it.
Percy explained what Nico had found out about the Doors of Death, and how they had to be closed on both sides. Even with sunlight streaming in from above, Percy's news made the cavern seem dark again.
The readers shuddered.
"So the mortal side is in Epirus," she said. "At least that's somewhere we can reach."
Nico grimaced. "But the other side is the problem. Tartarus."
The word seemed to echo in the throne room. For a moment, no one said anything.
Poseidon took the opportunity to speak up.
"This is all in the future, we could prevent Percy and Annabeth from falling."
Everyone turned to the god. The immortals exchanged wary glances.
Poseidon scowled at the looks of caution and uncertainty.
"Nemesis gave us these books to create a better future. My son shouldn't have to go down there if we could prevent it."
Hades looked tired. He took a deep breath. "Brother, the Doors-"
"I don't care about the Doors! My son will not go down there! I forbid it!" Poseidon raged, a fire lighting up in his eyes. "There has to be another way. Something we're not seeing."
"But Uncle, hadn't Leo said they survive?" Hermes reminded, uncertainty in his voice.
Poseidon shot the god a murderous glare. Hermes shrank back in his throne. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" His face started to tinge red. "You have no idea what's down there! I do! There are creatures lurking in that pit! Evil spirits that feed off the misery of others! Do you honestly expect me to be happy with the mere token of information that my son is alive?! My only demigod son will have to suffer the emotional scars made from falling into Tartarus! But hey! He survives! I am so blessed to know that my child may live with these painful memories! Thank you, Nephew! You have truly lifted a weight off my shoulders!"
Hermes's face had turned redder and redder with each tongue lashing. By the time Poseidon was done, heavily heaving in anger, Hermes's face was as red as a tomato in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," he said in a small voice, respectfully bowing his head to the Elder Olympian. He couldn't help but feel like a child.
Chris and the Stolls felt second-hand embarrassment, they ducked their heads similarly to their father. Some of the other immortals gave the messenger god pitying glances, but did not dare to stand up in his defense.
Percy visibly paled. He was shaking like a leaf.
"Am I going to come out insane?" he asked Leo, his voice pitched in a high octave.
Leo really didn't want to speak with Papa Sea Bear Poseidon on the prowl, but he couldn't leave Percy's question unanswered.
"No, no," the son of Hephaestus squeaked, his words sounding hollow even to him. "You're... You're okay."
What else could he say? He and Future Percy had never had a chance to get close, and when he came back, he and Annabeth were practically connected at the hip. The only conversations they had were about the quest and Leo had felt awkward talking to him one-on-one. How would they even hold a conversation? Hiya Percy! Catch that last episode of 'Doctor Who'? Oh right. You were trudging through the Pit of Eternal Damnation! My bad!
Percy's face crumpled in distress. "Dude, you couldn't lie to save your life."
"No I mean it!" Leo insisted, but the son of Poseidon scoffed.
"You were scared of me," he remembered. Leo fought back a wince. "Whenever it's brought up in the book, you always nervously laugh it off. I'm not dumb, Leo. Something about my future self's changed."
"Oh come on! That's not fair!" the son of Hephaestus protested, with an unnerved laugh. "Annabeth used to give me nightmares!"
"You're doing it again." Percy stated, narrowing his eyes. "Just tell me. I can handle it."
As Percy continued pressing the issue, Poseidon was on a roll. He was yelling at the god of the dead, who was struggling to remain patient.
"-If you can forbid your son from finding the Doors of Death, then I can stop mine from falling in the pit!" Poseidon argued.
"But the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides! Brother, I understand your pain, I truly do, but we don't have a lot of options." Hades tried to keep his voice even. His eyebrow twitched.
"I REFUSE TO LET MY BOY LOCK HIMSELF IN TARTARUS!" Poseidon roared, his body trembled in rage. California was suddenly facing a set of earthquakes. "Do you understand?!"
"Hang on, didn't Leo mention they were successful in closing the Doors?" Aphrodite mused, nervously combing through her hair. "How would that be possible if Percy and Annabeth are on the ship?"
Poseidon turned on her like a hurricane. The goddess of love 'eeped' and yanked Ares' bicep in front of her like a shield. Ares looked like a deer caught in headlights. Hephaestus glared daggers at Poseidon.
"APHRODITE, WILL YOU SHUT-" the god of the sea froze, now registering what she had said. "Oh. You're right."
And just like that, the earthquakes stopped.
"Well it wasn't a secret," Hephaestus grumbled at the same time Aphrodite 'hmph'ed and fixed her hair. Not trusting the god to interrogate the boy, Hephaestus turned to Leo.
"Okay, boy. How did you manage to close the Doors?"
Everyone now turned their full attention to Leo.
The teen fidgeted under their staring.
"Uh... yeah... About that..." Leo folded and unfolded a corner of a page. "I kinda... don't know? So I guess we'll all be surprised together."
He mustered a strained smile to the silent onlookers.
The readers blinked.
Poseidon was not impressed.
"HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW?!" he yelled. Leo jumped in fright, his hair suddenly caught on fire. The demigods around him moved away from the flames.
"Watch it," Hephaestus warned tightly.
"Didn't you and the others talk about it? Annabeth must've brought it up when you regrouped." Athena persisted, leaning forward in her throne.
"She didn't. Neither of them did. All I know is that they came out, and we closed the Doors." Leo patted the fire out.
The readers frowned.
"But, they came out. And the Doors were closed." Athena concluded, holding that fact like a lifeline.
"There's another way," Poseidon brightened.
"There has to be," Athena nodded firmly, sounding confident.
"So that means Percy and Annabeth don't need to go into Tartarus. Fates, we might not even need a sacrifice." the god of the sea said, relaxing.
"Correct," the goddess of wisdom agreed.
Hades shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. The Doors must be closed on both sides, there is no other option."
Poseidon sneered at his brother. "You must not have thought hard enough. When we discover what happened, you'll see how wrong you are."
Hades sighed tiredly, massaging his temples.
Taking that as a cue, Leo continued reading.
...The pit behind them exhaled a cold blast of air. That's when Annabeth knew with certainty. The chasm did go straight to the Underworld.
The demigods shuddered.
Percy must have felt it too. He guided her a little farther from the edge. Her arms and legs trailed spider silk like a bridal train. Leo grimaced.
Annabeth nearly gagged in disgust.
She wished she had her dagger to cut that junk off. She almost asked Percy to do the honors with Riptide, but before she could, he said, "Bacchus mentioned something about my voyage being harder than I expected. Not sure why—"
Poseidon's head snapped in Dionysus's direction. "Did you know?"
The flickering god of wine began to sweat. He raised his hands in surrender. "Uncle, I couldn't possibly have known. I must've been talking about the quest in general."
Poseidon glared at him a moment longer before looking away. Dionysus/Bacchus let out a silent sigh of relief.
The chamber groaned. The Athena Parthenos tilted to one side. Its head caught on one of Arachne's support cables, but the marble foundation under the pedestal was crumbling.
Athena gasped.
The readers stiffened
Nausea swelled in Annabeth's chest. If the statue fell into the chasm, all her work would be for nothing. Their quest would fail.
"And that's not happening," Annabeth said firmly.
"Secure it!" Annabeth cried.
Her friends understood immediately.
"Zhang!" Leo cried. "Get me to the helm, quick! The coach is up there alone."
Frank transformed into a giant eagle, and the two of them soared toward the ship.
Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. He turned to Percy. "Back for you guys in a sec." He summoned the wind and shot into the air.
Tension filled the air.
"This floor won't last!" Hazel warned. "The rest of us should get to the ladder."
Plumes of dust and cobwebs blasted from holes in the floor. The spider's silk support cables trembled like massive guitar strings and began to snap. Hazel lunged for the bottom of the rope ladder and gestured for Nico to follow, but Nico was in no condition to sprint.
Hades and Will grimaced.
Gritting his teeth, Nico balled his hands into fists. I swear, if this happened because I was slowing Percy down. I'll never forgive myself.
Percy gripped Annabeth's hand tighter. "It'll be fine," he muttered.
Percy felt sick. He trembled, holding Annabeth close.
Said girl closed her eyes with a pained frown. She held Thalia's hand.
Looking up, she saw grappling lines shoot from the Argo II and wrap around the statue. One lassoed Athena's neck like a noose.
Athena felt a twinge of annoyance, but she couldn't muster her full energy to be angry. Not with what was about to happen to her daughter.
The goddess clasped her hands tightly together and bit her lip.
We will change this. We will change this. she reminded herself. The goddess took a deep breath and let it out.
Leo shouted orders from the helm as Jason and Frank flew frantically from line to line, trying to secure them.
Nico had just reached the ladder when a sharp pain shot up Annabeth's bad leg. She gasped and stumbled.
Thalia cursed under her breath.
Lacy whimpered.
Grover bleated sadly, sniffling and wiping the tears off his face.
Of course... Annabeth thought distantly. It had to be my ankle.
Her stupid broken ankle. That's what Hazel meant, Annabeth realized, dazed. Unbelievable. After all the danger she had faced in her adventures, she, Annabeth Chase, was to be taken to Tartarus because of a typical injury you could get in a soccer field.
It felt like a slap in the face. Annabeth wanted to be angry, but she couldn't. She just felt numb.
"What is it?" Percy asked.
She tried to stagger toward the ladder. Why was she moving backward instead? Her legs swept out from under her and she fell on her face. Leo's hands shook as he held the book.
Now the readers were confused.
Annabeth slowly opened her eyes, narrowing them in bewilderment.
"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"
Annabeth shook her head. "What?"
The others exchanged baffled frowns.
"Cut off her ankle?" Katie guessed.
...Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either. Then something yanked Annabeth backward and dragged her toward the pit.
The readers tensed.
Percy lunged. He grabbed her arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.
Poseidon winced. He hunched over and buried his face in his hands.
"What's happening?!" Lacy cried.
"Help them!" Hazel yelled.
"From what?!" Connor asked desperately. "Just tell us!"
Annabeth glimpsed Nico hobbling in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder. Their other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel's cry was lost in the general shouting and the rumbling of the cavern. Leo guiltily winced.
Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit.
A few people in the room gasped. Some cried out in disappear, but no one bothered to see which one of them it was. They all stared at Leo as he sadly continued reading.
Her legs went over the side. Too late, she realized what was happening: she was tangled in the spider silk.
Annabeth felt her heart falter before it raced in full speed. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh my gods," she breathed.
Percy grimaced.
She should have cut it away immediately. She had thought it was just loose line, but with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn't noticed that one of the strands was wrapped around her foot—and the other end went straight into the pit. It was attached to something heavy down in the darkness, something that was pulling her in.
The readers cried out in a uproar.
"You're kidding me!" Travis's jaw dropped.
"Shouldn't she be dead?!" Chris yelled.
"That bitch!" Clarisse swore.
"She's going to suffer," Athena promised, clenching her armrests and gritting her teeth. "She's going to pay. She's going to be punished for every single wrongdoing. She'll regret the day she was born.
"Oh my gods," Annabeth repeated, trembling. She was tearing up again. Thalia draped her arm over Annabeth's shoulders. The daughter of Athena could feel her friend trembling.
"No," Percy muttered softly. His eyes lit up in a sudden desperate hope. "My sword! I could use that!"
The demigods naively perked up.
...But he couldn't reach Riptide without letting go of Annabeth's arm, and Annabeth's strength was gone. She slipped over the edge. Percy fell with her.
The demigods reared back as if they had been slapped.
Her body slammed into something. She must have blacked out briefly from the pain. When she could see again, she realized that she'd fallen partway into the pit and was dangling over the void.
Percy had managed to grab a ledge about fifteen feet below the top of the chasm. He was holding on with one hand, gripping Annabeth's wrist with the other, but the pull on her leg was much too strong.
No escape, said a voice in the darkness below. I go to Tartarus, and you will come too...
Athena scowled, methods of torture flashed in her mind.
Annabeth whimpered. "This is all my fault."
The demigods turned to her, quick to provide comfort.
"No it isn't."
"Don't say that."
"It's Arachne's fault." Thalia told her.
"No it's mine," Annabeth denied, wishing she could bawl her eyes out. She sniffled and fought back tears. "If I hadn't gloated at Arachne, she would have never shot her web at me."
Her face screwed up, Annabeth's breath hitched, she furiously blinked her eyes. "If it wasn't for my... my hubris, things would've been dif-different and I wouldn't be risking P-P-Percy's life."
And just like that, the dam broke. Annabeth broke out in tears again, despite her best efforts. Percy muttered assurances in her ear, occasionally stopping to press kisses on her cheek. The others weren't feeling much better, some on the verge of tears themselves and others looking defeated.
The gods watched in dismay, once again reminded that these demigods were only children.
"Annabeth, I promise you, we'll fix this." Athena told her daughter. The goddess felt her heart breaking in two. "Things are going to be different now. You won't be put in this kind of situation ever again."
Annabeth merely nodded her head, not able to fully believe her mother's last statement. Her mother was certainly right about one thing, this time will be different.
She was ready for Arachne now.
Leo passed around small packages of Kleenex from his toolbelt then went back to reading.
The pit shook. Percy was the only thing keeping her from falling. He was barely holding on to a ledge the size of a bookshelf.
Nico leaned over the edge of the chasm, thrusting out his hand, but he was much too far away to help.
Nico felt so powerless. The son of Hades hung his head, crossing his arms. He felt a small nudge and turned to see Will leaning behind Chris offering a small package of tissues.
The son of Hades hesitantly took the package. "Thanks."
Will offered him a grin in response. It seemed forced but it had a sense of warmth to it that made Nico strangely want to smile back.
He caught himself before he could. The son of Hades turned away, squeezing the tissues in his grip.
Hazel was yelling for the others, but even if they heard her over all the chaos, they'd never make it in time. Leo miserably shook his head.
Annabeth's leg felt like it was pulling free of her body. Pain washed everything in red. The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity. She didn't have the strength to fight. She knew she was too far down to be saved.
Annabeth let out a shaky sigh. Thalia gave her arm a comforting squeeze.
"Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."
"No!" Percy exclaimed, sounding as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "I would never let you fall in Tartarus by yourself!"
Poseidon inhaled sharply. He said nothing, keeping his face hidden in his hands.
Athena's expression softened hearing that. She looked at the boy, regarding him in a new light. She had been skeptical of Percy dating Annabeth, especially with his fatal flaw. But after hearing his actions and seeing his love towards her daughter, Athena thought she might have been too hasty in her judgement.
He's good to her. Athena wasn't proud of it, but for a fleeting moment she was glad Annabeth wouldn't not be in Tartarus alone.
This is such a tragedy! Aphrodite thought, blubbering. She uselessly fanned her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Ares consolingly patted her hand. A romantic tragedy!
His face was white with effort. She could see in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless.
...He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"
Said boy looked up in surprise.
Nico's eyes widened. "But—"
"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"
Nico's face became solemn. He couldn't help but remember the last time they had made a promise. Bianca's face flashed in his mind.
He ignored the pain in his chest and nodded solemnly to Percy.
"I'll do it."
Percy stiffly nodded back. "I believe in you."
"I—I will."
Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Everyone shivered.
Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.
Percy and Annabeth squeezed each other's hands.
"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."
Aphrodite fanned herself faster, staring up at the ceiling.
Percy and Annabeth shared strained smiles.
Only then did she understand what would happen. A one-way trip. A very hard fall.
Poseidon and Athena winced.
The demigods were passing around tissues. Sniffles and soft sobbing were the only sounds in the room.
"As long as we're together," she said.
She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. Leo swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat, and croaked out the rest. She saw the sunlight far, far above—maybe the last sunlight she would ever see.
Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.
"Fates," Poseidon choked out, his breathing becoming labored.
Athena squeezed her eyes shut, holding her forehead.
The gods were emotionally drained. The demigods felt as though they had been punched in the gut. Mutters of 'Gods' and 'Nos' could be heard in the group.
Leo let them have a moment to gather themselves, needing a small break as well. When everyone managed to calm down to a degree, he said,
"I can read the next chapter."
The readers didn't protest, feeling in no energy to speak.
Leo flipped the page. Seeing the title, he couldn't fight back a tired grin as he rolled his eyes.
"Of course," he drawled with a small laugh. "Good one Nemesis. Leo LII."