νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 3-31: GHOST KING MUAHAHHAHAHAA you alr lil bro

TEMPEST

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

There were a lot of answers we might've given, from "I knew that" to"LIAR!" to "Yeah right, and I'm Zeus."

But Percy also said a very smart thing; "But you're not an inventor! You're a swordsman!"

"I am both," Quintus said. "And an architect. And a scholar. I also play basketball pretty well for a guy who didn't start until he was two thousand years old. A real artist must be good at many things."

"That's true," Rachel said. "Like I can paint with my feet as well as my hands."

I stared at her in disbelief, and not for a good reason. "Literally how does that benefit anything regarding art or... How does that benefit literally anything ever?"

Over time, she was starting to really like me less and less, which was good. "Maybe it doesn't have to benefit."

"It's just, like, that's weird. I bet you give good footjobs."

"TEMPEST!" Percy screeched so high, he sounded like an eagle.

"Sorry. It just slipped out." That's a lie. I wasn't sorry.

"But you don't even look like Daedalus," Percy protested. "I saw him in a dream, and..." Percy looked ill, and not because of my footjob comment.

"Yes," Quintus said. "You've finally guessed the truth."

"You're an automaton. You made yourself a new body."

"Percy," Annabeth said uneasily, "that's not possible. That- that can't be an automaton."

I frowned. "No. That's definitely possible. The dead always find a way." I knew Quintus was dead the whole time, but I wasn't gonna say that. I didn't want him saying that I was dead.

Quintus chuckled and gestured to Annabeth. "Do you know what Quintus means, my dear?"

"The fifth, in Latin. But-"

"This is my fifth body." The swordsman held out his forearm. He pressed his elbow and part of his wrist popped open- a rectangular hatch in his skin .Underneath, bronze gears whirred. Wires glowed. For some reason, I remembered the maintenance hatch on Talos, where Bianca died, and I had the chance to save her.

"That's amazing!" Rachel said.

"That's weird," Percy corrected.

"You found a way to transfer your animus into a machine?" Annabeth said. "That's... not natural."

"Oh, I assure you, my dear, it's still me. I'm still very much Daedalus. Our mother, Athena, makes sure I never forget that." He tugged back the collar of his shirt. At the base of his neck was a mark I'd never seen before- the dark shape of a bird grafted to his skin.

"A murderer's brand," Annabeth said.

"For your nephew, Perdix," Percy guessed. "The boy you pushed off the tower."