Reunion
Sadness was quickly replaced with anger. If there was anyone to blame and take punishment for this, it was Leo Valdez.
"M'lady please, think rationally-" started Hector, pleading with her.
She silenced the voice and headed for the son of Hephaestus would probably be manning the aircraft and firing shots off into New Rome. Gods, she was so damn close.
Soon enough she found Percy and Annabeth, the reunited lovers. They were off to one hell of a start.
"What's going on?" yelled Kassandra over the sounds of alarms and fire.
"No idea, Octavian accused Leo of going rogue on him," shouted back Percy.
"Down there!" called out Annabeth.
The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard. There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista.
"Leo!" Chase screamed. "What are you doing?"
"Destroy them..." He faced Annabeth. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all."
He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.
A grey dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed.
"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"
Annabeth darted over to the table of controls and looked over them confused. Then she seemed to understand the general gist and yanked hard on a lever. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.
Frank was on the ship by the time Leo came back round to consciousness. It turns out Frank was the dragon, as a son of Mars he had inherited the ability to shape shift into various animals which was pretty cool.
Meanwhile, Hazel had also gotten out of the city on a horse named Arion who could run faster than sound (probably). She was racing below them on horseback, keeping pace with the ship. Kassandra and Frank made formal greetings in which she learnt that the two Romans were dating. Looking at them in that form, it made sense. They were a cute couple.
Now there were nine of them on board. Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Hedge and Kassandra. Hazel below them but still following and soon to join made nine. Nine souls travel to the Ancient Lands and save the world. Three cheers for them, woo hoo.
As of now, Kassandra sat below deck in the medical ward tending to Jason. She may not be able to directly heal the wound instantly, but by placing her hands on his arm the process was easily ten times faster.
"Are you sure he's going to be fine?" asked Piper for just about the hundredth time. She would usually get annoyed, but the ex-huntress would probably do the same thing if it had been Aspen.
"Yes," she responded. "Full body check as taught by Chiron and Lady Artemis themselves and maximum healing output that I can produce. Nothing fatal will come from it and soon enough there'll be no sign of it."
The son of Jupiter was sleeping on the bed, the wound bandaged but pulsating golden light as a sign of the healing. Next to him stood Percy who watched over them, rubbing his chin.
"Gods, I should have handled that better. Maybe if I-"
"There was nothing more you could do," comforted Piper. "This was clearly a trap or some trick from Octavian or someone who wanted chaos; it's not anyone's fault here."
There was silence for a little longer. Above them on the next floor, Kassandra could hear Leo being interrogated by Frank, Hedge and Annabeth.
"What's with the armour?" asked Percy. That boy couldn't stay still for longer than ten seconds. It was one of the traits the daughter of Bellona found amusing about demigods.
"It's energy, raw energy. The stuff flows throughout my body and I've been learning recently how to utilise it better than just as a source of godhood. I can do other stuff with it too, guess you'll have to wait and see for more."
The plates melted off of her and dissipated into golden dust. Kassandra was yet to confront Leo since the boy was knocked unconscious by Percy, maybe she'd give off a show of her strength there. Suddenly Annabeth entered the room.
"Everything alright?"
The three conscious ones all gave her a thumbs up. The daughter of Bellona quickly resumed her hands back onto Jason's arm though.
"Hey, how about you take a break?" offered Piper. "I'll stay with him and you can go upstairs for a bit. It's not urgent I guess that he recovers from his cut."
"Uhh, sure. Thanks McLean."
Kassandra withdrew her palms, and the glow from the cut stopped. She stood up and stretched before turning around and heading out. There was mumbling from behind her and she could hear two people following after her.
The daughter of (Y/N) came up the stairs directly behind where Valdez and Frank were talking.
"Is Jason-?"
"He's resting," Annabeth said. "Kassandra's given him plenty of attention and Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."
Percy gave him a hard look."Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?"
"Man, I- I don't understand how it happened.I'm so sorry—"
"Sorry?" Percy growled. Annabeth put a hand on her boyfriend's chest.
"We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"
Kassandra locked eyes with Leo and the two entered a staring competition. Almost instinctively, her hand created a finger gun and she began to raise it.
"Valdez, if I find out this is your fault I will-"
"No need to be making threats as of now," rushed Annabeth, pushing Kassandra's arm back down to her side. There was a very clear split in opinions on Leo. "The situation?"
Leo broke from his trance. "Yeah. We need a ton of stuff and we can only make one landing, so we need to find somewhere nearby to find everything for repairs. Festus, do a scan."
"He can scan for magic bronze?" Frank marvelled. "Is there anything he can't do?"
As if on queue, Festus began to whir and squeak.
"Perfect." Leo sighed with relief.
"What's perfect?" Annabeth said. "I could use some perfect about now."
Leo managed a smile. "Everything we need in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."
Once they got there, it wasn't a pretty landing. With the oars damaged and the foresail torn, Leo could barely manage a controlled descent. The others, Kassandra included, strapped themselves in below- except for Coach Hedge, who insisted on clinging to the forward rail, yelling, "YEAH! Bring it on, lake!"
To the southeast, a city was nestled in the foothills of a mountain range, blue and purple in the afternoon shadows. A flat desert landscape spread to the south. Directly beneath them the Great Salt Lake glittered like aluminium foil, the shoreline etched with white salt marshes.
The ship came crashing down into the water, shifting from aerial to nautical form. Machinery hummed as the aerial blades that were still working changed to nautical form. Three banks of robotic oars dipped into the water and began moving them forward.
Under deck, Piper and Jason had moved into the son of Jupiter's room whilst Kassandra, Percy, Annabeth and Frank sat around the dining table.
Leo entered. He had made the lounge as nice as possible, and Kassandra had appreciated that since she had spent so much time there.
The cupboard was lined with magic cups and plates from Camp Half-Blood, which would fill up with whatever food or drink you wanted on command. Just a shame Aspen wasn't there to share the meal with her. There was also a magical ice chest with canned drinks, perfect for picnics ashore.
The chairs were cushy recliners with thousand-finger massage, built-in headphones, and sword and drink holders for demigod kicking-back needs. There were no windows, but the walls were enchanted to show real-time footage from Camp HalfBlood—the beach, the forest, the strawberry fields- Percy was staring longingly at a sunset view of Half-Blood Hill, where the Golden Fleece glittered in the branches of the tall pine tree.
"So we've landed," Percy said. "What now?"
Frank plucked on his bowstring, Kassandra hoped to have an archery challenge with him one day. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean... that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"
"What?" Leo asked.
Frank explained how their harpy friend was freakishly good at memorising books. At some point in the past, she'd inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of Rome.
"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guessed. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."
Percy kept staring at the image of Half-Blood Hill. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want..." He made a fist. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."
Annabeth laced her fingers. "Let me think about the prophecy- but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed.Leo, what do we need?"
"The easiest thing is tar." Leo was glad to change the subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also,Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."
"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honour."
Everyone's eyes fell on the son of Hephaestus. "Guys...I don't know what happened. Honestly, I-"
Annabeth raised her hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned...I felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened—"
Frank grunted. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"
It was Annabeth who calmed down Kassandra over the whole thing, but she still had her own theories. She suspected play from Ikari or Ichiro, those two were out there and the nature devil had probably recovered from his injuries or refilled himself by now.
"I'm fine now," promised Leo. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."
"Split up?" Percy said. "That sounds like a really bad idea."
"It'll be quicker," Hazel put in. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"
Annabeth raised her eyebrows, as if reappraising Hazel's merits. "You're right. The same reason we needed the Argo II... outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."
Percy still didn't look happy about it, but he took Annabeth's hand. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good."
"Alright love birds, get a room," joked Kassandra.
Hazel smiled. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for the tar?"
Frank opened his mouth like he wanted to protest. "I... I suppose. But what about you?""I'll ride Arion with Sa—with Leo, here."
She fidgeted with her sword hilt, nervous energy pouring out of her.
"We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."
Frank scowled. Obviously, he didn't like the idea of Leo going off with Hazel.
"What about you Kassandra?" asked Percy, being the only person to acknowledge her in the situation. She waved a hand.
"I'll hang back, I don't want to draw any unwanted attention due to... you know."
Hazel and Frank frowned. "Due to what?"
Of course, she hadn't explained to them yet.
"Uhh, I lied back in Rome. Well, my mother is Bellona, but my father is also a god. So I'm kind of a goddess, well to put it better I'm on the path to becoming a real goddess."
The two were stunned. This is why she didn't like the reaction, it created an unjust power dynamic that she hated.
"Leo," said Annabeth, turning to the elf and changing the conversation, "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"
"With luck, just a few hours."
"Fine," she decided. "We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."
Kassandra didn't stay on the ship for long. She grabbed a plastic bag with a seal on it and packed a few items from across the ship (possibly dipping into some peoples quarters), equipped her dagger, left her bow in storage and went to find the love-birds who were probably down each throats whilst no one was looking.
She said farewell to Piper and Jason, who surprisingly weren't getting at it with the latter still unconscious and promised to be back soon before taking her leave. The first place she headed to was into the forest, the exact opposite direction Leo and Hazel went. She had somewhat of a plan in her head.
"Playing lone wolf now?" joked Hector in her mind.
"Oh come on, if I told the others what I was doing they'd flip out and try to talk me out of it or ask to join in. Besides, there's a majority chance it doesn't work anyway."
She swam across the lake and dried herself off when she got out, heading with direction. The forest was scenic, she could imagine lying in the sun for hours just lazing off. Eventually though, she found exactly what she was looking for, a small clearing where the sun broke through the tree line.
Tying her hair up with a golden band, she wondered if she could make normal clothes out of energy to never worry about washing them again. Then she realised that would qualify as her walking around in nothing since it was her own energy source and she blushed. Hector cackled.
Searching for a minute, she soon found a pretty large boulder and uprooted the thing, rolling it over to the cleared area and wiping it down of mud and dirt till it was spotless. Taking a seat before the stone, she went through the contents of the sealed bag she had brought with her and displayed them on the stone.
A book about Spartan architecture from Annabeth's room, a narwhal plushie that one of the Hermes kids had given Percy which Annabeth had put in his room back at camp and a medal from Jason's room. Neatly, she organised them into a semi-circle. The person items of the three demigods who, excluding her sister, knew (Y/N) the best.
Hector glimmered into shape across the stone, sitting cross legged too.
"Really ma'am, this isn't a good idea. When you saw him last... something was wrong, I could feel it."
"Yes, well we were surrounded by monsters and had Ichiro and Ikari up our Tartarus. I just need to get him alone so I can have a real talk."
"And the way to do that is with a cult summon?"
Kassandra nicked her hand with her blade, a single drop of ichor spilling onto the stone. Then she wrote a few words in a mix of Latina and Greek, basic tongue.
"Yes."
Suddenly the writing began to glow as if it had been written with golden ink and the items too gained an aura of magic. The prince of Troy could only sigh.
"Well I can't stop you, so do as you please. If things go sideways, just bring me out and I'll be at your side."
And just as quickly as he appeared, Hector vanished. When he did so, there was a rush in the wind and the forest whispered to itself. It was just like when Ikari had assumed his armour in their duel back at camp.
"Hello daughter."
Kassandra's eyes went wide and she snapped up. Like some sort of drunkard, she spun around searching for the voice. She found it.
Just ahead of her, standing next to a strong oak, was her father. And not the father that looked like a woman, no. This was her father as she remembered. He had abandoned the suit/dress since last time for khaki shorts, a short sleeve t-shirt that was plain white, and a sandals. He looked like her father... if it wasn't for the fact one of his eyes was a flower.
"Pater!" cried out Kassandra, rushing forwards.
(Y/N) held out open arms and his daughter crashed into him, enveloping her in a warm hug.
"I've missed you so much Kassandra," said the god of demigods, rubbing her back. He was a good couple heads taller than her, the size difference clear.
"Dad," wept the ex-huntress, "Gods, I thought you were... everyone said... no one would tell me what happened to you, Chiron and Percy and Annabeth knew but they hid the truth-"
"They know?" said (Y/N), unknown to Kassandra a blank look rose to his face.
"Yeah, but it's all good now! You can come back to the ship with me and meet the others!"
She turned around and gestured to the crudely put together summoning shrine. "I haven't seen one of those in a long time," he commented. Kassandra laughed wholeheartedly.
"I know, not as good as you or mother taught me how to properly create shrines, but it's the best I could do. Of course, mother will want to see you! Do you know where she's been all this time?"
"I... I can't say I do," responded (Y/N). "About these others, are they-"
"The seven," nodded Kassandra. "And a satyr. We're stopping for supplies after an accident earlier. We're on our way to save the world. My second quest now."
"I'm so proud of you daughter," praised (Y/N). "You truly are everything I've planned for."
Planned for? Just a different use of language surely. The daughter of Bellona was so happy she ignored the comment entirely. She took his hand in hers and turned back around.
"Come on, you've got to meet them! They're out right now, but Jason is on board with his girlfriend Piper. You remember Jason, right?"
(Y/N) nodded slowly. "Of course."
"And Annabeth and Percy and Frank and Hazel, they all know you too and'll be bound to be happy to see you again. Hades, all of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter!"
She began to drag him back in the direction she had come, but he didn't budge. Kassandra turned face him, confusion written all over her.
"Pater? What's wrong?"
He lost the magical look when she had first seen him, something seemed off. His daughter's smile died down as she completely analysed him. As she was stuck, mesmerised, (Y/N)s hand sprung from his side and tapped Kassandra's head lightly. There was a spark of electricity, similar to the time (Y/N) used the ability in the sea of monsters. This time, the one being targeted was knocked unconscious.
'(Y/N)' smiled and bent down to pick up his daughter, tossing her over his shoulder. With a flick of his hand, a tree trunk rose from the ground, encasing them, before being pulled back underground.
Annabeth, Percy and Frank came down hard onto the deck of the ship. One hell of a job for just roofing tar, thought Chase. The Greeks darted down the main hall. Percy was toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smelled horrible. Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair. Percy's shirt was covered in it.
Frank stumbled up behind them, which made the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank had a big smear of the black sludge down his face.
"Ran into some tar monsters," Annabeth said. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. Hazel,where's Leo?"
She pointed down. "Engine room."
Suddenly the entire ship listed to port. The demigods stumbled. Percy almost spilled his bucket of tar."Uh, what was that?" he demanded.
"Oh..." Hazel looked embarrassed. "We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like...all of them."
"Great." Percy handed the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. "You guys help Leo. I'll hold off the water spirits as long as I can."
"On it!" Frank promised.
The three of them ran off, leaving Hazel at the cabin door. The ship listed again, and Hazel hugged her stomach like she was going to be sick.
"I'll just..." She swallowed, pointed weakly down the passageway, and ran off.Jason and Piper stayed below as the ship rocked back and forth.
Waves crashed against the hull as angry voices came from above deck- Percy shouting, Coach Hedge yelling at the lake. Festus the figurehead breathed fire several times. Down the hall, Hazel moaned miserably in her cabin.
In the engine room below, it sounded like Leo and the others were doing an Irish line dance with anvils tied to their feet. After what seemed like hours, the engine began to hum. The oars creaked and groaned, and Piper felt the ship lift into the air.
The rocking and shaking stopped. The ship became quiet except for the drone of machinery. Finally Leo emerged from the engine room. He was caked in sweat, lime dust, and tar. His T-shirt looked like it had been caught in an escalator and chewed to shreds. He grinned like a madman and announced that they were safely under way.
"Meeting in the mess hall, one hour," he said. "Crazy day, huh?"
After everyone had cleaned up, Coach Hedge took the helm and the demigods gathered below for dinner. It was the first time they'd all sat down together- just the seven of them. The Prophecy of Seven was unfolding at last. No more waiting for Leo to finish the ship. No more easy days at Camp Half-Blood, pretending the future was still a long way off. They were under way, with a bunch of angry Romans behind them and the ancient lands ahead. The giants would be waiting. Gaea was rising. And unless they succeeded in this quest, the world would be destroyed.
The others must've felt it too. The tension in the mess hall was like an electrical storm brewing, which was totally possible, considering Percy's and Jason's powers. In an awkward moment, the two boys tried to sit in the same chair at the head of the table. Sparks literally flew from Jason's hands. After a brief silent standoff, they were both thinking, 'Seriously, dude?' they ceded the chair to Annabeth and sat at opposite sides of the table. The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City.
"That's crazy man," said Percy, a smile making its way onto his face as Leo finished his story.
Frank managed a grin too, looking around at everyone's faces as they all chuckled or rose the corners of their mouths. He looked over once, and then frowned, looking back.
"Guys... does it feel like we're missing someone?"
Everyone rotated their heads up and down the table, all their brows furrowing.
"It... it does seem like that," said Piper.
"Jason, Piper," said Annabeth, holding her hand to her forehead, putting her elbows on the table and sighing, "Where is Kassandra?"
The son of Jupiter and daughter of Aphrodite's eyes both blew out of their heads.
"She, uhm, she said she was going out back before we left."
"And where is she now?"
McLean put her head down in complete shock that she hadn't noticed the girl had returned. Jason coughed awkwardly.
"I don't know," he mumbled.
"Can't she just do that teleport thing?" asked Leo.
"Air travel," corrected Annabeth, "But no. She can travel but not consistently and not that far. She's not a member of the seven but from what she told me, is a part of the greater prophecy. So we need to turn around right now and-"
Interrupting Annabeth, the sound of footsteps could be heard above them. Everyone instinctively reached for their weapons before Percy put his hands up.
"Wait, that could be her!"
Everyone put their weapons back and listened in for the noise. The thumps of steps moved around until it reached the steps, descending down onto the same floor as the lounge. The demigods sat still in anticipation. Percy had never been so silent and still in his life.
Eventually, the noise reached just around the corner of the mess hall. Gods, sweat dripped from Hazels forehead like the source of the Tiber.
"Hello demigods."
"(Y/N)!" exclaimed Percy and Annabeth.
"Sir!" stuttered Hazel and Frank, stumbling from their seats and throwing up a Roman salute.
"My Lord," said Jason, rising properly and stamping his hand to his chest.
Piper and Leo sat confused before it reached to their minds that this was the (Y/N) who Annabeth had constantly praised since they returned from their first quest.
"Yes, it's so good to see you all," bowed (Y/N).
"We thought you were... you... back in the throne room... Kassandra..." stuttered Annabeth. Then she looked at him past the tears of joy. "What's happened to your eye?"
"Courtesy of Gaia, a temporary solution to my problems."
The gears in Annabeth's mind started to turn.
"No, you can't be here, Zeus confirmed it, that you-"
"Died?" snapped (Y/N). Everyone flinched. "Daughter of Athena, gods cannot die in combat."
"But your body-"
"Died?" asked Jason.
"(Y/N), you disappeared from Rome. Everyone from the youth to the elderly talks about you disappearing. When I first met Reyna, she asked me if she knew anything about you," put in Percy.
Piper stayed quiet. She could tell something wasn't off. She may have not known the god of demigods personally, but something inside of her screamed that this was wrong.
"So you are (Y/N) (L/N)?" asked Piper, infusing her words with charm speak to force a proper answer.
(Y/N) batted his hand in her direction. "Of course I am Piper McLean, who else would I be?"
The seven all simultaneously grew uncomfortable, like a cold frost had spread down their spines.
"And what's with the... the flower?"
"Such great questions," said (Y/N), clapping his hands and moving further into the room. As if they were one unit, everybody moved slightly backwards, whether in their chairs or standing. The god frowned.
"Oh come on, I come back and this is my welcome?"
"What's with the flower?" asked Piper again, more conviction and strength in her voice.
(Y/N) winced. "Didn't I say? Healing my eye."
"But you can't heal that wound, it was from Kronos' scythe," remarked Annabeth.
"Yeah, and why would Gaia help you?" questioned Percy. "If anyone would take up arms against Gaia, it would be you. Unless..."
"Unless you weren't (Y/N), an imposter" said Jason, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?"
The son of Asclepius sighed. "Just play the game, won't you?"
And then, from his back sprouted seven great vines that spiralled forwards, one at each demigod. Before they could react, each hero of the prophecy was entangled in a vine, twisting around their necks and bonding their limbs.
"Listen here children of the gods," said (Y/N), but it was no longer the voice of the god they knew. It sounded ancient and sleepy, just like-
"Gaia," choked out Leo, gasping for air and hitting the vines with his hammer.
"It really has been a while, Leo Valdez," laughed fake (Y/N), the son of Hephaestus cringing. "How is Esperanza? Oh, sorry I forgot, it's only you who is resistant to the flames."
"What have you done to (Y/N)?" demanded Percy.
"The son of Asclepius swore an oath on the Styx to me for a favour, and now I'm cashing in my own counter favour."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hazel.
Fake (Y/N) gestured down at his body and leaned against the wall, tutting.
"You'll find out soon enough. You are a sloppy excuse for a crew, already lost a member and it took you four hours to notice. If I were (Y/N) I'd be so disappointed, especially with you, Annabeth Chase. Your secret, how long can you hide it?"
The daughter of Athena bowed her head in shame that no one else understood.
"Why are you here? If you're going to kill us, just do it now," coughed Percy, finding the strength to roll his eyes like the sarcastic demon he had to be.
The fake god wagged his finger. "There's no fun in that. In truth, I merged a fraction of my consciousness with the last remaining strands of (Y/N) (L/N)'s soul. We are merged in this body and whilst I want to end this quickly, a part of me says otherwise. So I'm here to do what I can, and this is to have fun in the lead up to the big event."
The vines relaxed a little and the demigods were set back onto the ground.
"My son is rather well trained with monsters, as you should know Jason Grace. So you will provide me with entertainment."
Behind fake (Y/N), the ship walls contorted until they spat out a person, a girl with dark brown plaited hair and a diadem. She collapsed on the ground, her hair covering her face.
"Kassandra!" shouted Percy, but the girl did not respond, lying unresponsive on the floor.
"Goodbye, young heroes. Don't disappoint me," stated the vessel blankly before vanishing in a shower of pollen.
When fake (Y/N) disappeared, it was Annabeth who darted forwards to Kassandra's side, shaking her body and calling out her name. Luckily, she moved. She moved her head up, and stared Annabeth dead in the eyes. But the daughter of Bellona's eyes had lost their spark, tears stained her face.
When she saw Chase, she scurried backwards into the wall she had fallen from like a cornered animal, panting.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Hazel.
Kassandra looked at Annabeth, and then Percy, and then back at Annabeth as if she were seeing a completely different person.
"You... how could you..." she cried out. Then she jerked her head up at the ceiling. "Curse you Olympus!"