The Great Escape
Whatever cheer had spread through the hunters after their fifty-six victory in almost as many years died a violent, whimpering death the second the Oracle dropped her latest prophecy.
Well, actually, it died the second the ordinarily inanimate and very dead (obviously) mummy just up and waltzed across the forest and into their midst like she owned the place, but Annabeth didn't think anyone was in the mood to debate technicalities.
Seven shall flee west to the Goddess in chains
All will fall in the land without rain.
No, everyone had much bigger problems to worry about, campers and hunters alike.
"Senior counsel meeting," Chiron announced grimly, his tone mirroring the mood that had slapped down on all of them - Annabeth swore she saw some of the younger, softer kids go pale. "Now. The rest of you, to your cabins. Curricular activities are dismissed for the day. Annabeth-"
"I'll round up the other counselors." She promised, and he nodded to her in gratitude before turning away to usher the lingering campers. Zoe stalked off almost immediately, and she dismissed her for the time being "Thalia, come with me. Percy, get the oracle back to the attic on your way to the meeting."
Percy's expression twisted indignantly, and he looked like he was about to argue. She shot him a look that was half-glare and half-plea
Please, seaweed brain, she thought but didn't say, take the hint.
There were so many ideas and possibilities and bad, bad half-formed worst-case scenarios worth of plans already starting to furiously swirl in her mind - the perk of being a child of Athena (though at times like this, she could almost liken it to a curse). She didn't need an argument over what was comparatively nothing piled on top of everything else.
Percy's jaw snapped shut. He looked pained and grossed out - which was fair, expecting anyone to manhandle the current incarnation of the Pythia was more than a little gross - but he nodded anyway.
"I'll get her back." He grimaced. "First year was the hellhound, second year was the Stymphalian birds, and now this. Can we not have one year where a camp war game doesn't go horribly wrong?"
Annabeth didn't answer that beyond her grateful nod - partly because, again, she had bigger things to worry about, but also because she didn't have a good answer. Their track record at normal (or the demigod equivalent of it) was stacked against them there.
"We'll help." Luna Lovegood offered, Bianca and Nico trailing doggedly after her. She extended her arm, hand pointing towards the oracle before jerking upwards. There was a burst of... something, faint as a breeze, and the oracle levitated into the air wholesale and floated a few feet above the ground like a puppet held up by invisible strings.
Percy's face immediately brightened. His grin sent an odd flutter shooting through her stomach, a feeling that she stomped on immediately.
With everything that was going on, to feel that... no. Just no.
"You lead, Percy." Luna hummed agreeably. "We'll follow."
The Oracle rotated in midair and inched closer to Luna as if to demonstrate its agreement.
"Oh, thank Poseidon." Percy grinned, completely oblivious to Annabeth's reaction (thank the fates for small mercies). Despite everything, he sounded pleased as punch for having the option to not bodily pick up the oracle - which, again, fair enough. Respected tool of the gods or not, she doubted anyone particularly wanted to touch the oracle with a five-foot pole herself if they could help it, mortal or immortal alike. "C'mon. Big House is that way."
And off they went, three teenagers, a ten-year-old and a floating mummy all off on their merry way.
Her lips twitched a little. What a sight - they looked like something out of a carnival show - only at camp-half blood, tickets half-price for all demigods!
"They're going to give half the nymphs who see them heart attacks," Thalia commented lightly.
"Probably." Annabeth frowned after them as they started trekking up to the cabins quickly, not quite running but not quite walking either
"You know, if you keep staring after the idiot kelp-head like that, even he'll start noticing."
"What?" She flushed. "No! It's not like that!"
"Uh-huh."
"It's not!"
It was a little like that, and Thalia's smirk proved full well that she knew, but Annabeth really hadn't been thinking about that. Not that exact second, anyway.
"It's about Luna," She admitted, and Thalia's smirk faded.
"New girl?" she grunted. "What about her?"
"Nothing bad." Not yet, anyway. "I'm just... curious."
"No." Thalia gasped. "You? Curious? Oh, no way."
Annabeth rolled her eyes and punched her in the shoulder - not that it did anything, mind, but it was the thought that counted. Yes, the children of Athena were a brainy bunch. They couldn't help it - they were all hardwired that way straight from birth.
Still, Luna more than warranted that kind of curiosity, and right now just looking at her was enough to twist her thoughts into a pretzel. Annabeth liked figuring things out, enjoyed it immensely, and right now Luna was yet another puzzle she desperately wanted to piece together and was fully aware she didn't have nearly enough time to do it, not when she knew nothing about her
Part of her wondered if that was by design, because seriously, nobody could be that confusing without actively trying to be.
A girl who already knew about the demigod world years before she came into camp (admittedly not that uncommon) had met, talked to and probably been gifted at least one weapon from her divine parent directly, because that spear had to come from somewhere (Very uncommon - as in, Thalia, Luke and Percy kind of uncommon) and managed to fight side by side with Thalia, keep up with her, save Annabeth herself by teleporting and land a killing blow on a manticore all in quick succession - and all that, without dying.
That was a more impressive track record than a good chunk of the older campers and a dozen minor heroes she could think of off the top of her head
"She seems like a good one," Thalia offered and Annabeth nodded slightly
She wasn't arguing that (she didn't have any reason to yet - fingers crossed, she wouldn't ever have one).
It was at least somewhat comforting to see that Thalia had a positive read on Luna, even if it wasn't all that surprising. Luna had saved Annabth - somehow - that was enough to put her in Thalia's good books as well.
The fact that she immediately managed to top that and talk her friend into rejecting a personal invitation to the hunters and Artemis's patronage from the goddess herself had to be icing on the cake.
(Seriously, the daughter of Zeus was always... electric, but even a mention or gods-forbid look at one of the hunters (Zoe) was enough to raise the risk of freak lightning strikes from 'relatively low' to 'run'.
She knew why, of course, but...
She shook her head. No. Things were bad enough without thinking about him.
"I figured she's one of yours." Thalia offered out of the blue.
"What?"
"You know. A daughter of Athena?" She shrugged. "If she's been out on her own for years... you know how it is. It takes smarts to survive on your own. And she looks the part, a little."
Annabeth pursed her lips.
She... could see where Thalia was coming from. With the blonde hair and the grey eyes, Luna did have the most common coloring of the children of Athena. And it would have taken a sharp mind to survive the kind of trials independent demigods go through in their lives all by herself.
But that wasn't good evidence.
"None of my siblings can do what she does. The kind of magic she uses... none of us have anything like it."
"So? Not every one of Zeus's kids stopped at summoning lightning. Some of them could control clouds, or cause storms. A few could even fly." Thalia grimaced, so subtly and so quickly that Annabeth almost missed it. What was that about? "The point is, different kids inherit different powers."
"Not Athena's," Annabeth countered. "My mother doesn't pass down or grant gifts like that - she values wit and intelligence more than anything else. That kind of power isn't a part of her domain. If she's anyone's kid, it's Lady Hecate, or maybe a minor goddess or spirit of magic or mist."
Maybe even an air deity if the way she levitated the oracle was any kind of clue, but if she was, why would her divine parent go out of his or her way to forbid her from mentioning them?
It was typically considered bad form to announce your parentage before being officially claimed unless your divine parent had given you the go-ahead, but the kids who knew beforehand (and those were rare) didn't exactly go out of their way to hide it.
"Whatever." Thalia didn't bother arguing. Annabeth knew that she didn't see the point of the conversation - she'd only used it as a way to avoid talking about the fiasco that had just gone down. "Doesn't really matter. As long as she's on our side, I don't care. We have bigger fish to fry."
No kidding.
Freedom won forth with sacrifice
And twelve at last pay the greatest price
They spent the rest of the way in grim silence, both of them undoubtedly lingering on what had to be the worst-sounding prophecy she'd ever heard, bar the Great Prophecy itself.
(Maybe)
Still, though, Annabeth wondered.
Beyond the strange powers, and the mysterious past, and the seven and a half thousand questions that sprung up every time she dropped a heart-attack-inducing comment - who was Luna Lovegood?
.
...
Not even half an hour later, Annabeth had her answer.
Luna Lovegood was a suicidal moron.
...
The council meeting started about as productively as it could have when both factions present hated each other and were stressed out of their minds.
"So... This is bad." Travis Stoll offered, and Clarisse glared at him like she was about to throw something at his head. The way her fingers twitched towards her propped-up spear had several people scooting away nervously.
"Are we sure he's not one of Athena's kids?" Thalia muttered, arms crossed and leaning back in her chair, and someone stifled a snort.
"Children, please." Chiron raised his hands for peace, but Zoe wasn't having it.
"Enough!"
Her fist rattled the table as she slammed it down, and Annabeth winced. Everyone winced, and now more than a few were glaring right back at her.
Word of advice: never startle armed, on-edge demigods at close quarters - or at all if you could avoid it. It never ended well.
"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."
"And go where?" Chiron asked.
"West!" Another hunter growled, and Annabeth recognized her as the one who'd fed her and Luna ambrosia after the Manticore fight - Pheobe. "You heard the prophecy. Seven shall flee west to the goddess in chains. The Pythia's words are clear!"
"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."
"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said, and her expression was one step off a condescending sneer. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."
"No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."
"Your" Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."
Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly, and Katie Chiron leaped right in.
"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said, unruffled even as Zoe's blistering glare rounded on him. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."
"'The Pythia's words are clear.'" Katie Gardener said, and credit where credit was due, she didn't even flinch when everyone turned to her. She pointed. "Hey, your hunter's words, not mine."
"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"
Zoe grimaced, but Annabeth could tell Thalia had scored a point.
"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."
"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations"
"Then we do it the right way." Annabeth finally offered, because this was strategy and strategy was where it became personal for her. "Cooperation. Otherwise no one gets what they want and we're all in for it, lady Artemis included."
Zoe's expression darkened, but she didn't refuse.
"Four and three," Percy said, backing Annabeth up. "Four hunters and three campers. That's as fair as you can get."
Annabeth nodded and shot him a half-smile, one that he mirrored.
"Woah, woah!" Castor (son of Dionysus) raised a hand in protest "We are getting way ahead of the curve here, and not in a good way. We can't rush into this. 'All will fall in the land without rain, freedom won through with sacrifice.' I don't know about the rest of you, but this is the worst-sounding prophecy I've ever heard. Like, on a scale of one to ten, it's a solid twelve."
"I thought the Great Prophecy was only twelve?" Travis said.
"Oh, we don't even talk about that one."
"Wait," Ofcourse Percy didn't let that one slide, eyes growing a little wide. "You guys know the Great Prophecy?"
Of course he'd be interested in the Prophecy that depended on his birth.
How could he not?
Even Thalia leaned forward in her seat.
Akward's looks were exchanged, every cabin counselor looking at the other and trying to figure out who should say what.
Katie cleared her throat a little guiltily. "Err, bits and pieces, Percy. None of us have ever heard it, but we get the idea. Olympus, big choice, all that jazz."
Thalia scowled. "Oh, that is some-"
"Enough!" Zoe looked about ready to spit fire. "Four and three, I will agree to that-"
She sounded like she'd rather shove knives under her fingernails than make the compromise
"-but I will not waste my lady's time on this ridiculous prattle!"
"Charming," Silena muttered under her breath, a dark look in her eyes. "Absolutely charming."
Zoe didn't even look at her. "I will select my hunters myself. Pheobe-"
"Of course." The hunter didn't even hesitate.
"Naomi, Celyne, A-" She cut herself off with a grimace. "That's four including myself. Choose your campers-"
She almost spat the word out, and the mood soured that much more. Clarrise was already twitching for her spear again.
"-and choose them now. We leave at once."
"Miss Nightshade-" Chrion started to protest, probably to complain in that polite way of his on how offensively bull-headed she was being (he had thousands of years of experience doing the same with every flavor of demigod imaginable) but he never got the chance to finish.
Between one second and the next, the air shifted. The temperature dropped, and their breaths misted over. A powerful presence washed over the meeting room, thick and suffocating, and a great flash of purple light burst in the corner of her vision.
Everyone leaped back from the table, weapons drawn in a heartbeat even as the light faded to reveal-
"Dad?" Castor asked, stunned
"Mr. D?" Asked... pretty much everyone else.
The disbelief was palpable, and for good reason.
Mr. D looked the same as he always did, at first glance. He materialized on the chair at the end of the table with the same disheveled hair, the same eye-sore of a leopard-spotted shirt, and those gods-awful purple running shoes kicked up on the table, but something about the whole get-up was off this time.
His skin was a shade less pale and his posture was straighter, firmer. His watery blue eyes were still bloodshot, but now there was a hardness to them that bordered on menacing.
Worse, the feeling in the air that had marked his arrival hadn't dissipated. No, that strange pressure and abrupt sense of danger had only intensified in. his presence.
This wasn't Mr. D, the bummed-out camp director.
No, this was Lord Dionysus, and he wasn't happy.
This was bad.
Annabeth swallowed and tried to wipe the unease off her face. She caught Percy doing the same even as his hand inched towards his pocket - where Riptide was - out of sheer instinct before he stopped himself.
"Mr. D" Chiron said steadily, but there was a wary undercurrent to it - the same one they were all feeling. "I had thought that you wouldn't be joining us."
"And I had hoped so myself, dearly, but since when do I get anything I want when it comes to this accursed camp?" He snorted mulishly and leaned back in his chair. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."
Everyone tensed at those words - everyone, even Chiron. He wasn't talking about the council meeting.
"Dad?" Castor said slowly, and valiantly flinch react when Dionysus's eyes snapped to him. "What's going on?"
For a long, nerve-wracking second, the god said nothing.
Then he raised a hand-
"By the divine commandment Zeus, Lord Of Olympus, Camp Half-Blood's borders are hereby closed."
-and snapped his fingers, and an all mighty presence slapped down on the room, blew out past the big house and spread, further and further and further-
"There. Done."
-until it disappeared with no warning, leaving all of them gasping and doubling over from the sudden relief.
"What the Hades-!?" Percy spluttered.
"Not him." Mr. D snorted. A bottle of Diet Coke materialized in his hand the next second and he popped it open in one motion. "Believe me, Perry, I'd actually prefer him over the headaches this is going to induce by the time everything is said and done."
"My lord." The dread building on Zoe's face (on Chiron's too, even if the old centaur hid it well) made a part of Annabeth go cold. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It means exactly what I said what it means." Mr.D took a sip of his Coke before clearing his throat dramatically. "Until commanded otherwise, Camp Half-blood is in lock-down. No one gets in, and no one gets out."
There were several sharp intakes of breath.
Zoe paled. "But my quest-"
"Is officially on hold." He snapped, irritated. "Or do I have to repeat myself?"
The 'I better not,' went unsaid, but everybody heard it loud and clear.
Everyone but Zoe, and Annabeth had to admire the sheer bravery it took to square your jaw and argue with an Olympian even if the strategic part of her brain was screaming as Zoe stepped forward.
"Lady Artemis is in danger."
"We are well aware." He answered dryly. "Apollo wouldn't shut up about it until his father threatened to blast him for non-compliance. For an emergency council meeting, it was mildly entertaining."
Annabeth wanted to groan. That wouldn't go down well.
And sure enough, Zoe's eyes flashed in ire.
"Lady Artemis is in danger! She is in chains!"
Mr.D looked bored. "Here we go again."
"We cannot-"
"I cannot?" The god's eyes hardened again. "I cannot?"
Zoe inhaled sharply, but didn't back down, even as Chiron tried to reach for her.
"Miss Nightshade-"
"The hunters will not abandon our Lady-!"
And that's about the point where Mr. D's eyes lit up with a baleful purple glow.
Zoe's mouth clamped shut.
"Oh, shit." Someone whispered.
"The hunters," when he spoke, his voice echoed, like two people were talking over their other and didn't quite overlap. "Will do as they are told. And Artemis?"
He took another sip of his coke, though his eyes never dimmed and never left Zoe's horrified gaze (it was hard to look at her like that.
"Well, she's a big girl. She can hold on long enough for us to - how did Athena put it again?" He paused in thought before shaking his head. "Something, something, plan, blah blah blah. Or better yet, Artemis got herself into this mess. She can do us all a favor and get herself out."
And that seemed to be that. A stunned silence followed.
Annabeth carefully didn't look at Mr. D when he finished speaking, but it was a near thing. She exchanged a wide-eyed look with Thalia, and Percy after her, and then... everyone else instead. Zoe wasn't looking at anyone, content to stare at Dionysus, horrified (he continued to ignore her with ease, flipping through the pages of a Wine Weekly magazine that hadn't been there a second before).
Pheobe looked ready to lunge at the god (as suicidal as that would be) and Chrion just looked as grim as a grave.
What the Hades was going on?
Annabeth could barely think - the gods of Olympus never interfered to stop a quest. Certainly not one that would benefit them, unless they'd somehow forsaken Artemis.
But why? And why in Zeus's name would any of the gods go along with something so insane, let alone her mother?
For a long moment, no one moved.
And then Zoe's face flickered and cooled into something nearly inhumanely expressionless, and Annabeth's stomach dropped.
She didn't know how, but she had a good feeling the Lieutenant of the hunt was about to say something dangerous. 'Blasted-to-bits-by-an-enrage-god' dangerous.
"Zoe-" Percy blurted out, having seen it coming too. "Don't-"
"Well, this is a mess."
Everyone paused.
Luna Lovegood smiled from where she was leaning against the far wall, Nico and Bianca nervously hovering by her sides, and wait, what-
"How long have you been there?" Thalia said, gobsmacked,
"More or less since the beginning." Luna shrugged.
"How?" Katie asked, looking around the table "Why didn't anyone catch them?"
"The wonders of the mist and a good confundus charm," Luna answered, smiling pleasantly. "If it makes you feel better, I think Chiron knew I was here."
Everyone looked at the centaur, who crossed his arms non-commitaly.
"It's against the rules, but given the circumstances and the whimsical nature of fate, I had a feeling they deserved a place here" He offered. "I do hope there is a reason you chose to listen in, isn't there, Luna?"
"I think that a line of the prophecy referred to me," Luna dropped that tidbit with the same energy as someone picking out what shirt to wear for the day. "And Nico and Bianca were curious."
The elder of the Di Angelo's looked vaguely embarrassed at that, but neither of them budged.
"What line?" Zoe hissed, and oh, she'd gone right back to being pissed.
"Does it matter?" Luna looked from her to Mr. D, who'd finally raised his head from the magazine Annabeth was certain as anything he hadn't actually been reading. "There is to be no quest, after all."
"Oh, look," The god drawled. "A smart one. Lucky me."
"Not smart," Luna said brightly. "Just cautious. Why would I go on a quest that even the gods are scared of?"
Everyone froze.
...
Someone made a sound like a dying wheeze. Probably Castor
Slowly, Mr. D tilted his head. Chiron made an aborted movement, as if to shield Luna from his gaze.
"Would you care?" Dionysus said slowly, quietly, and the tone did jack to to reassure any of them. "to repeat that?"
"Mr. D-"
"Chiron." The centaur went quiet, almost against his will. Probably against his will. "Do not speak. I'm asking the girl a question."
He looked back at an impassive Luna
"Well?"
"Have I said something wrong?" Luna frowned. "I don't think so. You disappeared to Olympus the second the prophecy was issued and you returned only to prevent anyone going on it, despite the fact that an Olympian is in danger."
Pheobe made a sound, half distressed and half furious.
"It's not very hard to guess at." Luna shrugged. "You are afraid, Lord Dionysus-"
"Don't" Annabeth begged, finally kicking herself into motion but Luna wasn't listening.
"-Of what this prophecy might mean. And so are the rest of the Olympians."
Overhead, a deafening peal of thunder cracked and shook the roof of the big house. Dust rained down from above as everything shuddered. The air doubled in pressure, till it was almost hard to breathe.
"I suppose it's hardly the first time - The Great Prophecy proved that - but I had thought it was clear by now that even gods cannot prevent prophecies from coming into fruition. Apparently not"
That was maybe three insults in one go - to a god.
"Shut her up," Beckendrof murmured to her. "Please, for the love of all the gods, shut her up!"
"You." Mr. D's eyes lit up again, this time with literal purple flames. The heat in the room went from bearable to sweltering in an instant, and several of them cursed. "Are either very brave or very stupid. Neither will save you."
And there came the inevitable consequences.
Thalia went for her spear. Percy reached for his sword. Everybody else either backed away or did the same.
None of them should have bothered.
"But is she wrong?"
Annabeth swore she felt a part of her soul curl up and die when Zoe stepped in front of Luna, fists clenched. Pheobe followed suit.
"Do you think that being the second in command of my sister's little girl band will protect you?"
Zoe didn't answer.
"Do you think that we will obey an order that would have us forsake our lady? Does Olympus, my lord?"
The god smiled, and the expression was terrifying. Annabeth remembered suddenly that Dionysus was the god of madness.
"Ah, more mortal treason. Just what I needed to lift my spirits."
"Dad-" Castor tried, one last time. "Dad, please-"
"Be quiet." The demigod's mouth snapped shut, and his hands shot up as if trying to physically pry it open to no avail. "I won't kill the little fools, if only because Artemis will make an exquisitely painful nuisance of herself should she somehow get free. But I do think sometimes as say, a vine of Pinot Noir ought to teach them some manners."
The god raised his hand, light and power coalescing along his fingertips. Annabeth, Percy, Chiron, and damn near everyone else tried to surge forward, only to freeze and lock up as something held them in place.
She struggled, desperately, but it felt like trying to walk through molasses with a thousand pounds of iron strapped to her back.
Utterly useless.
And just before the three girls were blasted into grapevines, Luna side-stepped Pheobe entirely and raised a hand, almost politely.
"Before you do that-"
"Oh? Are you going to grovel? It won't do you any good. I so rarely get a justifiable opportunity to make examples out of arrogant demigods - I certainly won't be giving this one up."
"Not quite, but thank you for letting me. " Luna smiled and cleared her throat.
Then she screamed.
"AVE, DOMINE BACCHUS!
The heat cut out.
The pressure keeping the demigods trapped in place vanished.
And Mr.D toppled out of his chair and began to scream, his skin glowing a mottled gold and his features shifting and distorting with bursts of light.
"Dad!-" Castor surged towards him, but Zoe's dagger flew past his face in warning and struck the far wall.
"Touch him and you will be reduced to dust!" She snarled
"What have you done?" Chiron gasped at Luna, and it was the first time Annabeth had ever heard him sound so horrified.
By contrast, the girl remained as unruffled as ever (But her eyes were steely.)
"I invoked his Roman self."
That... meant nothing to any of the demigods present, but Chrion, Zoe and Phoebe reared back as if struck.
What?
"That-" Zoe looked at Luna. "To invoke an Olympian's counter-aspect here of all places - a territory that is entirely, fundamentally Greek... the agony would be debilitating."
Slowly, the lieutenant smiled with her teeth barred.
"Good."
"Yes, I thought so too," Luna said agreeably, before looking at where the downed god was still screaming loud enough to deafen an ordinary mortal and glowing even brighter. "Also, possibly rather explosive. We should run."
...
They bolted out of the Big House even as the building continued to shudder and creak, the walls heaving with the force of Dionysus's howls. Overhead, dark storm clouds filled the sky and lashed with devastating bursts of lightning, and the very wind felt dangerous as it blasted past them
The gods weren't just angry, they were enraged.
(And somehow, none of them were smiting them.)
"Miss Nightshade," Luna said. "If we're going to go on this quest, I suggest we do it now. Before the resident god overcomes the chism and makes us all wish he stopped at just turning us into grapevines."
"What did you do to my dad?" Castor demanded angrily, stepping towards Luna - or at least he tried to until Pheobe cold-cocked him in the jaw hard enough that Annabeth swore she felt the impact in her teeth.
"Hey!" Clarrise snapped, electric spear arcing.
"Enough!" Chiron roared - and the shock of it was enough to stop the daughter of Ares and half the remaining councilors from dogpiling the hunter. "Enough - None of you comprehend the gravity of what has just occurred. Child, what you've just done-"
He looked at Luna, but it was Zoe that responded.
"She's given us a chance to save my lady." She said definitely "Pheobe - gather the others."
Pheobe sprinted without another word, even as Chrion shook his head.
"Miss Nightshade, you can not leave camp. No, listen to me," He raised his hands. "The gods ordered the boundary closed. You quite literally can not set foot over the borders - the power of the gods binds us in place."
Zoe just looked murderous
"I will find a way!"
"Oh, we're so dead," Bianca whispered to no one at all.
Grover, silent until then, whimpered in agreement.
"Nah." Nico grinned. "We have Luna."
"Yes, you do. I already have a plan."
Zoe whirled to her so quickly that Annabeth almost got whiplash trying to keep up.
"How?"
"Magic." She knelt on the ground and unzipped her rucksack - Annabeth only now realized that she was wearing one, and so were the Di Angelos.
Had they expected this? Planned for it?
Luna caught her eyes and winked.
"Constant Vigilance."
What?
"We can't help you." Beckendrof looked harried. "Whatever you're doing, we can't - The gods will be furious. They'll take it out on the other campers."
"Oh, don't worry," Luna promised. "I have a plan for that too."
"What-?"
She struck out with her hand, faster than anyone could react, and aimed it center mass at the at the rest of the councilors.
"Stupefy maxima!"
A wave of crimson light exploded out of her hand and flung every one of the councilors bar Chiron and Thalia away. When they hit the ground, they didn't get back up.
"Cool!" Nico cheered. "Which one was that?"
"Mass knock-out spell." Luna indulged him, smiling just as gently as ever despite everything. "Now they're not accomplices, and the gods can't punish them for helping us."
"I am still here-" Chrion began, but Zoe had her bow drawn and knocked and aimed at his throat in the time it took him to get out all four of those words.
"Hey!" Percy protested and tried to step forward "Let him-"
"Percy, it's alright." Chiron looked at Zoe. "You understand the consequences of this?"
"I do"
"You will likely face the wrath of the gods, even if you succeed."
"I do not care. My lady comes first."
Overhead, the sky rumbled. The air stirred.
And Chiron nodded in defeat, and made no move to step away.
"Very well."
"I'm coming, of course." Luna hummed. "So are Nico and Bianca - I won't leave them with a god I've personally upset, that would be idiotic."
"We're coming too," Thalia said forcefully, glaring right back when Zoe turned to her. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're coming. Or do you want to argue this again?"
"Fine."
Annabeth and Percy exchanged another look.
He smiled weakly.
"Three for three, huh? Quests in as many years, I mean."
She smiled. "Most people go on one major quest their whole lives, Percy."
He shrugged. "Guess we're not most people."
No. No, they were not.
They couldn't not go. Thalia had already vowed to go, and there was no changing her mind. Annabeth wouldn't let her go alone, and Percy was more likely to switch over to Kronos then he was to leave them alone, so that was that.
Gods, her mother was going to kill her.
Luna frowned "There are twenty hunters all in all, right?"
Zoe blinked and nodded at the girl's question.
"Right. Two then, just in case."
Oblivious or perhaps uncaring of the way everyone was staring at her, she pulled two objects out of her pack. A bottle cap and... was that a soda can?
Placing the two of them down in front of her, she raised one hand over each and closed her eyes.
"Portus."
Blue light began to stream out of her palms and into the trinkets. Trash?
Whichever it was, the bottle cap and the soda can seemed to drink the light, glowing brighter and brighter as more of it was poured into them.
At last, the light cut out and she pulled her hands away, smiling in satisfaction
"All done. Two one-way portkeys, ready to go." She picked them up and stood up, took one step forward and nearly face-faulted.
"Woah!" Thalia grunted as she caught her.
"Sorry." Luna stood back, face pale and creased with sweat. "Sorry, that kind of magic takes a lot out of me."
"What are these... portkeys going to achieve?" Zoe eyed them skeptically.
In answer, Luna tossed her the bottle cap.
"Wait for it."
Not two minutes later, Phobe crested the hill, the rest of the hunters trailing after her in one row.
Luna beamed.
"Alright, line up and hold hands."
Everyone stared and didn't budge an inch.
Luna huffed.
"Hold hands unless you want to stay here, with him."
She pointed to the big house, which was enough for everyone to remember (how did they even forget the god not a hundred meters away?)
"Do as she says," Zoe ordered, and aside from Thalia bristling at the commanding tone, everyone moved.
Annabeth would have protested how fast everything was moving, really she would have but a) She had no idea what the Hades was happening anymore and b) Dionysus wouldn't listen to reason either way.
"Alright!" Luna grinned, bubbly to the end, and pulled on Nico's arm, which held Bianca's, who held Pheobe's and so on. "Is everyone ready?"
"For what?" Percy asked, and he sounded about as stable as Annabeth felt. "You haven't told us anything."
"The mystery's half the fun!" came the cheery reply. "Here we go! Butterbeer!"
"What the f-!?" Thalia scowled, but that was bout as far as she got when the world exploded.
Instantly, Annabeth felt a jerk somewhere behind her navel. Her feet had left the ground. She could not unclench the hand holding the huntress at her side; it was pulling her, both of them, all of them onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, dragging them into infinity-
The last thing Annabeth saw with any clarity was Chiron's face, resigned with heavy despair as if he was seeing them all off into their doom.
(He very likely was)
And then everything vanished, and they were gone.
...
Elsewhere:
Atop an ancient mountain and deep inside a ruined fortress, a General tipped his head back and roared with laughter as a certain spy's latest report came in.
"Oh, that is just golden." He wiped a tear from his eyes. "Not only are the Olympian dogs so quick to abandon one of their own, they don't even have the basic competence to prevent mere demigods from escaping right out from under their noses."
"That's gods for you," Across from him, Luke Castellan stood with fists clenched and a glowering expression on his face. "I'll send out some of our forces to harry them, keep them away until the winter solstice-"
"No."
"-No?" The traitorous son of Hermes blinked. "No, my lord?"
"No." The titan repeated, leaning back and rolling his neck. The movement caused his vertebrae to pop audibly. "Oh, that never gets old."
"My lord, why-?"
"Patience, brat." He grinned as Luke clenched his jaw. "Oh, don't give me that look. Or are you so blind as to not see the opportunity we've been given here?"
"With respect, my lord." Luke ground his teeth. "What opportunity?"
"The Olympians have shown the demigods their true colors. Selfish, self-serving brats who'd forsake one of their own just to hold on to their ill-gained power." The titan's grin grew wider "And now Thalia Grace and Percy Jackson, the two viable candidates for the Great Prophecy, have seen it for themselves."
Luke's eyes went wide, and the general chuckled.
"Finally, you see as I do. This is everything our King has been waiting for. So yes, Castellan, we will be sending out our forces. But not to harry them, oh no."
"No, we're going to help them, and finally pave the path to watch Olympus burn."
The titan stood up and towered over the demigod.
"Now, make yourself useful and summon my cousin. If we're going to ensure that 'twelve at last pay the greatest price'," Atlas barred his teeth in dark delight. "We'll be needing some crafty counsel."
After all, two titans were ever better than one.
...
Next Chapter: The Wrath Of The Gods
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