εμπιστοσύνη
trust
• • •
Thalia was the first to follow Percy out of the tent, which she did more so out of the need to get away from everyone else. Percy didn't look back at her; he continued walking.
"Percy!" she called after him, unwilling to quicken her pace to anything more than a casual walk.
He whirled around, his sword coming near to making contact with her skin. Percy's eyes were alright with a dark glow, and Thalia almost felt scared.
"What?" he hissed.
But Thalia was not Artemis' lieutenant for nothing; she raised an eyebrow instead of showing her fear. "This angst bullshit is already growing old. You need to calm down for five seconds."
"Five seconds?" Oh gods, Thalia had forgotten just how intense Percy could be. "I've been doing nothing for two years, while Annabeth has been missing! I think I've calmed down for long enough. And if none of you are going to do anything about it, then I'll have to do it myself!"
The air grew thick with the smell of ozone, and Thalia was reminded of a time several years ago when the two of them had gotten into an argument, and it had ended with her electrocuting the son of Poseidon. That option was tempting, but it was hurt and fear motivating Percy, nothing else.
"There's a way they have of doing things," Thalia explained slowly. "Hazel has until tomorrow to fulfill her mission, and if she isn't back, that's when we go to help her. Besides, we don't know their exact location."
Percy closed Riptide, most likely to eliminate that conductor of electricity. His survival skills were still on point. "How hard can it be to find her?"
Holy Hera, he was completely clueless. "Percy. I spent the last two years with my Huntresses searching for both you and Annabeth, and we found absolutely nothing. Not even a trace. So excuse me for doubting your ability to track her down in minutes when I couldn't do it for years."
"You don't understand," he said, oblivious to the wind picking up around them, wind that was not acting under Thalia's control. "She's the only good thing I have left."
Thalia took a large step forward, pointing a finger into Percy's chest. "Listen here, dipshit. Before I knew Jason was alive, Annabeth was my only family. I swore to protect her, and I failed. Not only that, but I abandoned her when I became a Huntress. So I might be the only person in the world who understands what you're feeling, except I'm not. Because Will still hasn't returned from his mission so Nico is worried sick, and Hazel is gone so now both Nico and Frank are wrecks, and Leo was seriously depressed because of Calypso's absence, and until a few days ago, it had been over a year since I had last seen Reyna. We're all going through some shit here, Jackson, and it sucks that you were stuck on that island, but while you were there, we had to watch friends and family and innocent people die and go missing and maybe not ever return. That's not the kind of thing you can just come back from." Thalia didn't know when the first angry tear had fallen, but several more had joined, so she most likely wasn't going to stop soon. "The big green bitch herself tried to kill me, and she nearly succeeded. And now there's a bunch of new prophecies that predict deaths of us. We've all been dealt the same hand, the only difference is you're just now being introduced to a game you didn't know you were already playing."
There's a silence, and Thalia used the time to wipe the tears from her face. Percy does nothing but stare at her, but his gaze was unfocused. Thalia could feel the eyes of people behind her, most likely the other attendants of the meeting, but she doesn't look back. Finally, he responds.
"When we fell into Tartarus," Percy began, and Thalia mentally scolded herself; she gave a whole speech about how they were in the same boat, and he plays the 'I went to literal hell and survived' card, "I was. . .unstable. I killed, which would have been fine, but for the first time in my life, I wanted more than just that. I wanted to make the monsters suffer. Annabeth stopped me when I lost myself, and she protected the both of us from my own blood-thirst. And now she's out there, suffering because of me."
"It's not your fault," Thalia immediately said, but Percy gave her a pointed look, and she shut up.
"I know she's your family," he continued, "but she's my everything. And as long as I don't know if she's safe, I'm not going to rest. I need to find her."
"And we'll help you," Piper said, stepping up to stand beside Thalia. "We need her, too."
Percy glanced up, clearly surprised to find Piper talking to him. And Thalia couldn't blame him; after the last time the two of them had seen each other, Piper had nearly died. But Piper was fearless, and she stared down the son of Poseidon with an even gaze.
"But we have to be careful," Piper continued. "Bigger things are being set into motion, and we can't risk to mess anything up. So once Frank and Jason manage to wake Nico up, then we'll be able to make a plan. Are you with us?"
"Of course I am," nodded Percy.
"Then that's that. I'm going to call a meeting for everyone, and we'll explain everything to them. Meet us there?"
Even after knowing her for years, Piper never failed to shock Thalia. Her calm demeanor did wonders, her charmspeak usually unnecessary, which she knew Percy appreciated. Piper silently floated away after Percy nodded at her, the rest of the Olympians following.
Crisis averted. Thalia turned to see Percy frowning. She rolled her eyes, most definitely not in the mood for another argument. "What is it?" she asked.
When he looked up at her, his eyebrows were knitted together, and he looked every bit like the confused thirteen year old that Thalia had met years ago. "Why did you mention Reyna? I didn't think you two even knew each other."
Thalia snorted despite herself, her laughter growing by the bemused expression on Percy's face. "You've known me for how many years, and you think I'm straight?"
"I-I never said that!" he sputtered, "but I thought you had a thing for L-you know."
Luke. The name Percy couldn't bring himself to say. Thalia quickly sobered up and pushed Percy's arm playfully. "I'm bisexual, seaweed brain! I can't speak for Reyna, but I definitely like her."
Percy blinked a few times, and Thalia laughed, and it felt amazing. "Don't strain yourself too hard; you might pull a muscle," she teased.
"And Nico and Will?" Percy pressed.
Thalia slung her arm over his shoulders and began walking after the others. "I can only come out for myself. Gods, you really are an idiot."
• • •
Shadows slammed into Annabeth's body, and they devoured all the light until only darkness and Willow remained. The only light was emitted from the glowing red owl still above Annabeth's head, and it illuminated Willow in a ruby light. The girl's grin was feral, and Annabeth's instincts shouted for her to run. But the beachfront had disappeared, replaced with endless shadows.
"I know you don't know who I am," Willow drawled, twin swords held in her hands, "I believe you don't even know yourself. But to put it simply, I'm a weapon sent from Tartarus, a place you barely escaped with your life. Think of all the horrors you encountered there, all the darkness. I'm Tartarus in a physical form, and I'm bringing all of that to you, Annabeth Chase."
Nothing short of fear gripped Annabeth, but there was a time and place for fear, and that wasn't on the battlefield. So she let muscle memory take over, and her feet widened into a stance.
"They tell me I've killed many monsters before. You don't scare me; you're no better than any monster I've killed before."
Distract her, the voice in Annabeth's head advised. Her arrogance will delay her enough for help to arrive.
Willow took the bait. "I was born in Tartarus! I was trained by him and Gaea to destroy the gods forever! I succeed where everyone before me has failed. Everyone has failed to kill you, but I'll be sure to remedy that."
Now, the voice whispered, and without Annabeth realizing it, her wrist flicked back before quickly releasing the knife that had been in her hand. Willow only had a second to move, causing the knife to land in her shoulder rather than her heart.
Willow released a gasp of pain, staring to where blood began to drip. No, that wasn't blood; it was black in color rather than red. The shadows around them flickered before falling away entirely.
Annabeth immediately squinted, the bright Sun harmful compared to the darkness she had been caught in seconds earlier. Willow took that moment to wrench the knife from her shoulder. It fell on the beach, the black blood sticking to the sand.
Use the sand. Throw it in her eyes, whispered the voice, and it seemed to be coming from the owl. Annabeth obliged, quickly grabbing a fistful of sand and throwing it at the girl. Willow shut her eyes, and Annabeth swung her leg to knock Willow off her feet. The girl fell to the ground, blood flowing quicker now.
Annabeth allowed herself to survey the scene, and she almost whimpered at the sight of it. Clarisse was clutching her stomach, where an arrow was sticking out of. Drew was currently supporting her, fending off attacking monsters while Chris was using his bow to shoot as many as he could. The new girl, Hazel, was racing through the monsters, killing them faster than anyone else.
Willow got to her feet with a frustrated shout, and Annabeth immediately snapped her focus back onto her.
"Why do you fight when you don't even know who you're fighting for?" Willow sneered while clutching at her shoulder.
"Anyone proud to come from hell is someone worth killing," Annabeth retorted, matching Willow's tone.
Willow scowled and swung her sword at Annabeth. She jumped back, suddenly realizing that without the knife, she was weaponless. The same thought seemed to dawn upon Willow as she looked at Annabeth with an expression that could only be described as euphoria.
"Daughter of Athena, all out of plans. What a pity."
The world ripped itself into two. Sand exploded beside Annabeth, sending her and Willow flying backwards. Annabeth half closed her eyes to avoid the flying sand from impairing her vision.
There was a giant portal only a few feet away from Annabeth, and spilling out of it were dozens of armed demigods. The leader was covered in flames, but it appeared to be by choice. With a glance towards Willow, Annabeth saw pure fear in her eyes.
"Call off the monsters, and we'll consider sparing you, Willow," the girl on fire said, her smoldering eyes staring at the girl made from shadows.
"No, we won't," the girl to her right sneered. The girl's bright green eyes skipped over Willow and landed on Annabeth, and then to the owl above her head. "Oh, shit. It's true."
Willow clambered to her feet. "She's mine to kill, half-bloods."
"Which is good because we don't want to kill her," said the green-eyed girl. "You're the only one we want to kill. Think of us as exclusive."
"Annabeth Chase," the girl on fire said calmly, as if the flames didn't bother her. "We're here to help you."
A blur flashed between Annabeth and the portal, and it stabilized to become Hazel. The girl slid off her horse, golden sword dripping with blood. Wordlessly, Hazel stepped in front of Annabeth, effectively blocking her from both Willow and the portal.
"How about no one helps or kills anyone?" Hazel said loudly, steadily glaring at both parties.
Willow stepped backwards, her sword falling to the ground. "I'm not afraid of you, daughter of death. I'm reliant on you, actually. Benefit me, and your lover won't have to die."
Before anyone could react, Willow disappeared into shadows, the army of monsters disappearing as well.
The green-eyed girl released the most colorful stream of curses that Annabeth could remember hearing. The other girl silently extinguished the flames, and faced Hazel, who looked troubled but returned the other girl's even gaze.
"My name is Daphne Fitzgerald," the new girl said calmly, as if she hadn't just been on fire, "and I'm the leader of the Last Olympians."
"Which is us," the girl beside her unnecessarily added.
There was a lengthy pause, one that would allow Annabeth time to digest, but it seemed every other minute led to a life-altering revelation; she had given up on processing.
"That doesn't make any sense," Hazel protested, processing for the both of them, "why does no one know you exist?"
Sand shifted beside Annabeth, and she found Cameron standing beside her. Covered in blood and sweat, but very much alive. It felt almost like a miracle, and Annabeth wordlessly slipped her arms around him.
Someone else stepped forward from where the portal had closed; a boy with golden hair and a gentle face. He looked at Annabeth and gasped, making no attempts to mask his surprise.
"You're really alive," he whispered.
Annabeth didn't have time to respond before Hazel grabbed him into a tight hug. "When Nico finds out you're still alive, you're so dead."
"That would be counter-productive," the boy said, his eyes still on Annabeth.
"Are you okay?" Cameron whispered in Annabeth's ear, and she ignored how he lingered pressed into her hair.
"I'm fine," she responded softly.
"We have a lot to discuss," Daphne Fitzgerald said, "including the whereabouts of your Olympus that Will promised to disclose."
Hazel glared at the boy and promptly ending the hug. "Are you insane? Why would you promise that?"
Will winced. "There's a lot going on, Haz, more than any of us know. They're demigods, too. We have to work together here."
"Your friend is right," Daphne remarked, taking a step closer. "Would it make you feel any better to know that the gods sent me here?"
"The gods have been silent for years," Hazel countered uneasily. Annabeth could sense the doubt in her voice, but there was something else there, something that sounded like hope.
Daphne smiled warmly, and Annabeth wanted nothing more than to trust her. "We need to know the rest of the prophecies, Hazel Levesque, so that we can best prepare for the return of the war. We have armies and supplies ready; we just need you and your Olympians."
"I barely trust the Olympians," said Cameron boldly, not flinching when the girl's fiery eyes turned to him, "what makes you think I'm going to trust you?"
"The gods have a plan. Annabeth has heard the voice, no doubt, just like I have heard my own. We're not just demigods; we're heirs."
"What is she talking about?" asked Cameron.
Annabeth said nothing. At some point, the owl above her head had disappeared, apparently also taking the voice with it. Her body ached from walking and fighting, and she wanted to go home, wherever that was. Somehow, home smelled like saltwater and cookies.
"Please, Annabeth," Daphne pressed, "trust me."
Trust her, the voice in her mind returned. Trust my plan.
Annabeth was silent, making it possible to hear her own heartbeat inside her chest.
"We're not safe her," Hazel announced, ending the silence for Annabeth. "We need to leave before we think about trusting anyone new."
"I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of time," Daphne said, sounding almost sad. "Tartarus is opening in three days."
• • •
author's note
shoutout to @hjs_52 for being the first to comment last chapter! i'm staying away from my house today, so i had to type all of this on my phone!my thumbs hurt and i apologize for any errors. also, someone was going to die this chapter, but i decided to push that to a later date. . .so prepare yourselves.