It feels good to be back
They were an interesting group, all of them fascinating in their own ways. Annabeth kept her eyes on the trio as Bianca led them through the prison. Someone really needed to train these demigods on how to keep their body language quiet because they were practically 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨
First there was the son of Hephaestus judging by his constant joking and the scared looks he gave the others when he thought they weren’t looking, he was insecure, desperately so. If Annabeth were to make a guess, the other two were likely his first real friends, and he was trying to hold onto them with both hands.- he would be easily manipulated, desperate people always were.
Next, there was the daughter of Aphrodite, Piper McLean, Annabeth recognised her from some red-carpet drivel from a few years back. She seemed the most fun of the three, Annabeth could admire the fire and resentment that clearly bubbled behind those multi-coloured eyes. Judging by the way that she had been the first of the trio to get in Annabeth’s face and yell at her, she wanted recognition, to be noticed. And judging by those clothes and that rather 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 haircut she would go to great lengths to achieve that. If Annabeth had to make a guess, it likely stemmed from being the child of a celebrity, childhood neglect made you do all kinds of interesting things – She would keep an eye on Piper; she looked like she might be fun to play with for a little bit, and hey, maybe Annabeth saw just a little of herself in the other girl.
And then there was the son of Zeus, Jason Grace. Now, wasn’t he an enigma. Annabeth wasn’t even entirely sure how he was even alive. From what Thalia had told him the boy was supposed to be long dead. And even if he had somehow survived, than how the hell hadn’t anyone found him? Children of the big 3 were supposed to be monster bait; she’d seen that clearly with Percy and Bianca. Thalia had been hunted across seven states by Hades’ servants, so how had a child survived? It didn’t make sense, and it drove Annabeth mad.
There was only one shred of a theory that seemed to make a little sense. Back at the height of the war, Connor had told her that the hellhounds kept picking up strong but confusing scents in the San Francisco area. Annabeth had assumed that maybe it had something to do with the entrance to the underworld being nearby, but in war, it's rarely a good idea to plan based on assumptions. She’d dispatched Krios to investigate, but as usual, the bumbling Titan had managed to fuck it up. By that point, the war was entering its final stage, and there wasn’t time to go chasing ghosts in the deserts.
But now Jason’s sudden appearance had thrown new light onto that theory. Annabeth wondered, maybe there had been some kind of sanctuary? built by Zeus to hide his one remaining child? It was an intriguing theory, but it didn’t seem right for Zeus, this was the man after all who had no problem letting Thalia get cut down when he could have easily prevented it. Annabeth didn’t buy it for a second that Zeus had decided to go to extra lengths to protect Jason, so there must be something else. Oh, Annabeth did so love a good mystery.
Suddenly, Clarisse came to stop. "Shit"
Annabeth peered over the taller girl's shoulder; ah, that would be it—a pair of gold-suited Myrmidons blocked the way out. Their swords were drawn, and their stances ready for a fight.
Next to her, Jason grimaced. "We’ll have to fight our way out." before Annabeth could tell them how stupid of an idea that was the Myrmidons attacked.
The first one stuck at Clarisse, who barely redirected its blade with her spear. The next one dogged a blast of air from Jason and ran straight at Piper and the Hephaestus boy. Piper jumped back, and the Hephaestus boy……ignited. Huh, that was new. Annabeth filed that away for later. Jason jumped on the Myrmidon's back, trying to keep it away from Piper.
Clarisse, meanwhile, was being hammered by the golden warriors' strikes. She knocked most of them away, but one found its mark, leaving a slick trail of blood down her shoulder. Bianca stiffened and looked torn between helping her friend and keeping an eye on Annabeth. Annabeth raised an eyebrow cos really?
Bianca turned and went to save Clarisse, landing a solid hit on the warrior's back. It did nothing, of course. Annabeth leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. Annabeth sighed internally; apparently nobody had bothered to study the campaigns of Achilles closely enough. She gripped 𝘈𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 letting the familiar feeling of the sickle calm her. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
She rushed forward, shoving Jason out of the way and using the hook of her sickle to grab the Myrmidon by the throat. She twisted, putting all her strength into her arm. Her time in the prison had left her weak, which was fucking annoying, but her mind was sharp as ever. She shifted her stance, and with a sharp turn, she launched the Myrmidon towards Clarisse and Bianca, who were still tied up trying to fight its twin.
"Are you mad!" Jason tried to get up, but Annabeth kicked him back down. The last thing she needed was more interference.
Annabeth laughed, relishing in the familiar feeling of adrenalin hitting her bloodstream. Piper looked horrified—really, she was kinda cute when she got angry.
On the other side of the hall, the two Myrmidons reorganized and went on the attack; one of them struck out at Clarisse while the other ducked under her spear kicking her squarely in the chest. Clarisse collapsed backward, clearly winded. Bianca fell back as well to try and cover the other demigod.
Finally. Annabeth dashed forward, extending her sickle back into a scythe as she ran. She slammed the staff into the closest warrior and used the blade to hook his buddy who was reaching for Bianca. Twisting her body, she slammed both of the two soldiers back against the wall of the hallway. Both of their heads turned and locked onto her. Together, they shoved forward, knocking her back.
She laughed freely and openly as she parried their strikes—gods, it felt good to be 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. Slowly she maneuvered the two soldiers until one was to her left and the other her right. She ducked and weaved, not letting them get onto the same side as each other. The guard on her left swung his sword in a wide arc, aimed at her neck. 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, she bent backwards her back almost touching the floor. The warrior's sword flew through empty air where her head had been just a moment before; however, instead of her head, the Myrmidon’s sword made contact with its brother.
The other Myrmidon exploded in a shower of gold dust. With a grin, Annabeth grabbed its fallen sword and rolled back into a fighting stance. The lone Myrmidon took a step back, and she ran forward to meet it. With her sickle in one hand and the golden sword in the other, she engaged the golden warrior in a fury of strikes and parries. Finally, the Myrmidon turned just a second too slowly, and her sickle caught the flat side of his sword. Annabeth twisted and flung her arm out, sending the Myrmidon’s sword flying. She kicked out its legs and drove her sword into its chest, a manic smile painting her face.
She turned to face her fellow demigods and took a small bow. Bianca was supporting Clarisse, who had a number of small cuts running down her chest. Jason was being helped up by Piper, and the Hephaestus kid was standing stock still.
"How did you do that?"
Annabeth smiled at the kid and tossed him the golden sword in her hand. "Myrmidons can only be killed by their own blades, might want to remember little facts like that if you want to stay alive in this business." She gestured to the door. "Shall we?"
The other demigods picked themselves up. Bianca gave a short nod of thanks, which Annabeth returned. Clarisse shuffled past and grimaced: "Good to see a year in prison hasn’t dulled your bloodlust." Annabeth chuckled; it almost felt like old times. In hindsight, she thinks that Clarisse might be one of her biggest regrets from the war right alongside—nope, she locked that thought away and buried it beneath a hundred lies. The last thing she needed was distractions, not right now.
Jason followed behind, he stood protectively between her and Piper. Clearly, there was 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 going on between the two of them. Or, more accurately, judging by the expression on the daughter of Aphrodite’s face – Jason thought there was. Annabeth filed that information away for later. Teenage hormones led to all kinds of 𝘧𝘶𝘯 situations, and so far love had been oh-so 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 for Annabeth.
Together, they emerged out onto the cliffs. Judging by the screeching in the distance, harpies had been alerted of her breakout. Together, they all joined hands, and Bianca took a deep breath.
Annabeth opened her eyes to the sight of Camp Half-blood bathed in midnight moonlight. She couldn’t resist the grin that spread across her face.
"Home, sweet home."
She ignored the shudders from her traveling companions. The fates had granted her a second chance, and she was grabbing it with both hands.
A few plans would have to be reshuffled and reorganized. The Titans, for all their strength, had proven too incompetent to be truly useful. No, Annabeth needed something more, something more…..Giant