Enter the devil
Annabeth tried to ignore the goddess' pacing In front of her really she tried. But with these annoying chains clamped to her neck and legs, and this stupid straightjacket keeping her arms strapped to her chest, it was a little bit hard. Still Annabeth was more than capable of sneering as Athena marched back and forth in front of her cell muttering to herself.
Really, it was almost funny. The goddess truly had no idea why her ‘greatest child’ would choose to drive her scythe into Olympus’s back. It made her want to laugh, and sometimes she did, thoroughly disturbing the guards. But in her defence, it really was just so goddam 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺, the goddess of wisdom so completely blind to what lay right before her.
Everyone thought she was mad. Hercules had come by to try and mock her, she’d spat in his face and told him that she’d met Megara and his children in the fields of Asphodel and they knew nothing of him. That had set him off, and it took Apollo, Ares, and Hephaestus to hold him back. She’d laughed the whole time because really? it was Hera who’d killed them, so if he wanted to get angry at anyone, she was right there. But of course, the gods didn’t want to question their fellow immortals; no, it was far easier to blame the little traitor demigod for all their problems.
The next to come had been Poseidon, he demanded an explanation to why she had destroyed his palace. She told him the simple truth, it was nothing personal, it was just the best way to get Oceanus on her side. The look on his face was priceless, clearly, he had been expecting some grand motivation, the revelation that the destruction of Atlantis had been nothing more than just another step in her plan clearly offended him. Then Annabeth had grinned and asked why was it that a city that had already sunk once didn’t have better anti-flooding mechanisms. For that he’d tried to stab her. She laughed at him too.
Next had come Hermes….and she had no answers for him. He’d asked what had happened to Luke, and she told him the truth. Luke died a hero. He was worth more in death than she would ever be in life. Tears had threatened to break down her face, but she held them back. Hermes only nodded sadly before leaving….she had no sharp words for him.
"Soooo, has the council finally decided to kill me yet?" she asked casually. She would pretend to check her nails if only she could move her arms. "Decide to banish me to the fields of damnation for my crimes and all that."
Athena stopped pacing and stared at Annabeth. Their grey eyes locked as they stared. "You act like you don’t fear death, that you don’t fear your punishments."
Annabeth let out a chuckle in the corner of her eye; she could see the guards stiffen. "Why would I Athena? I've succeeded in my grand plan," she smiled a cold smile, "I will never be forgotten, my name will be remembered for generations."
Athena shook her head "No, you failed, Annabeth, you succeeded in nothing, Olympus still stands, and your name will be struck from the history books." She got close to the bars, her face mere inches away "Your legacy will amount to the same as your life, a zero sum.
It was a lie and they both knew it. A naked provocation. Annabeth knew she shouldn’t respond, but then again, her pride had always been her fatal flaw "True, I may have fallen at the final hurdle," she paused a moment to take in Athena’s face, "But I 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴 I may not have held it, but I showed the world just how weak the mighty Olympians are. That a little girl without powers, a little girl who couldn’t call down lightning, who couldn’t control the seas, or command the dead, came within a breath of 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭!"
Her face twisted into a smile "And that will be my legacy, every little boy and girl who’s ever shook their fist at the skies in anger will know just how pathetic the gods truly are." She watched as Athena's expression clouded "you will be fighting my legacy long after I am gone"
Athena scowled at her: "You spit in the face of the gods' mercy, your 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 mercy, we have allowed you to live and yet you refuse to repent"
Annabeth wanted to scream, she wanted to break something, to hurt someone. She gazed into the grey eyes of the goddess, "You are 𝘯𝘰𝘵 my mother" she snarled vitriol filling her throat, the guards readied their weapons "Helen Chase was my mother and 𝘺𝘰𝘶 killed her"
Athena leaves. Annabeth shouts obscenities as she walks.
//
Annabeth is seven. Helen is holding her close, whispering reassurances into her hair. There is a stranger in their house. She’s arguing with dad, Annabeth can hear them shouting from down the hall.
"I’m her mother Frederick; she belongs to me!"
"You’re not her mother! You abandoned us when we needed help! You abandoned me with a child when I was neither ready nor equipped to raise one! You abandoned her with a man who didn’t know how to care for her! And now you want to come here when we’ve finally built a real family and take her!"
"I’ve seen her, Frederick. The fates have already decreed that she will be the greatest of my children, I will not allow you to squander my daughter's potential."
"That’s all you care about it isn’t it! Her potential! You don’t care about her, not really; you don’t care about Annabeth; you only care about what she’s good for; she's just another tool to you."
"Of course I care for her, Frederick I created her after all and I care for all my creations-.
"Well, she’s not a tool, and she’s not one of your 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 she’s a girl! A seven year old girl who likes Legos and documentaries, she finally has a family, Athena…..and I wont allow you to take her"
"I will tell you this, Frederick, you will regret the day you denied an Olympian."
The fire comes two days later…