If Percy Hadn't Caught Annabeth

Part 4: News of a Note

Jason survived-- barely.

Later his friends explained that they hadn't seen him falling from the sky until the last second. There was no time for Frank to turn into an eagle and catch him; no time to wake Percy to control the water or for the rest of the crew to formulate a rescue plan.

Only Piper's quick thinking and charmspeak had saved his life. She'd yelled WAKE UP! with so much force that Jason felt like he'd been hit with defibrillator paddles. With a millisecond to spare, he'd summoned the winds and avoided becoming a floating patch of demigod grease on the surface of the Adriatic.

"Percy!" he shouted at the others as soon as he made his way back on board. "I need to talk to him!"

"What is it, Jason?" Piper asked, helping her boyfriend to his feet.

Jason felt so awake, he doubted he would sleep for a week. His hands were jittery. He couldn't stop tapping his feet. He guessed this was how Leo felt all of the time. Speaking of which-

"Leo," he called behind him as he made his way below deck. Everyone began to follow him, some looking a little concerned. "We need to stop in Split, Croatia."

"Weird spot." Leo grinned from the stairs. "But, hey, you're the boss!"

"Are you feeling alright?" Hazel asked, but Jason didn't hear her.

While making his way towards Percy's room he recalled the dream he had during his fall. Jason had been on the Empire State building. Reyna and some of the other demigods from Camp Jupiter encountered a mortal girl and faun. No, not a faun, a satyr.

He opened the door to Percy's room and made a beeline for the bed. Just as he had predicted, Percy was asleep. He had been sleeping nonstop since the news about Annabeth, only ever awaking to find someone convincing him to eat. He was beginning to lose his tan. His hair was even more of a mess than usual.

"Percy, wake up!" He was unable to contain his grin as he shook his friend awake.

"Let him sleep!" whispered Piper from the door. Everyone else had gathered in the doorway, looking uncomfortable to see Percy in his current state but curious to see what Jason was so excited about.

"She's alive, Percy, she's alive!" Jason shouted as he shook him.

Hazel gasped loudly as Percy rolled onto his back. He looked up at Jason.

"Annabeth?" he asked quietly. His shadowed eyes looked a little brighter; they began to glimmer with hope.

"Annabeth is alive! She's making her way through Tartarus!"

"How?" asked Frank as the rest of the crew pushed their way into Percy's room.

Jason explained his dream: the Roman demigods encountering Grover and Rachel, how Reyna was going to join them, and their conversation about Annabeth's note.

"A note from Annabeth." Piper shook her head in amazement. "I don't see how that's possible, but if it is--"

"She's alive!" Leo concluded. He beamed as Percy sat up in bed. "Thank the gods!"

"And I can't believe Reyna would try to find us," Frank added. "It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel said. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with seven demigods and a warship."

"And me." Coach Hedge added as he appeared in the door. "Don't forget, cupcake, you've got the satyr advantage."

Percy smiled for the first time in a long time; it hurt his cheeks. Coach Hedge looked at him curiously. Ever since Percy had almost destroyed the Argo II, the satyr had avoided him at all costs; he had no idea how to comfort the grieving boy. Now he looked around the room suspiciously.

"What are you cupcakes so happy about?" he asked kindly. A small, excited smile flitted across his face.

"Annabeth's alive!" Piper exclaimed. Her eyes glistened with tears and looked even more multi-colored than usual. Meanwhile, Coach Hedge looked thrilled, a facial expression usually reserved for after he clobbered monsters with his baseball bat.

"She's alive?" Coach Hedge asked excitedly.

"She's alive," Percy said quietly, smiling to himself. Slowly, he began to beam, his grin growing like dawn breaking across the open ocean. His happiness was infectious. Soon everyone else in the room was smiling too. Only one of the demigods had not joined in.

"Wait a second," Nico interjected. All eyes turned to the skeletal boy. He wore a confused look on his face. "How come it feels like her soul is gone?"

It was true that Nico had never been wrong before. After a long pause, Hazel spoke first.

"Maybe Tartarus is different," she suggested. "Maybe what you thought was Annabeth's soul leaving earth was just her entering Tartarus."

Her voice got quieter when she spoke next. "You did say your soul felt different when you were in there, and you're a child of the Underworld. Not that it wasn't difficult for you to make it through, but that most likely gave you a little bit of an advantage."

Nico's eyes glazed over for a moment. As he fell back into dark memories of the place, Hazel wished she hadn't reminded him of Tartarus. He eventually nodded.

"Alright," he replied, still not entirely there.

"And how did she survive the fall?" Frank interrupted. "Annabeth is smart, but she must have fallen for a few days. The impact should have, you know, killed her."

"I don't know and I don't care," Percy said. He got out of bed, alert and bright for the first time in a long time. "But if anyone could figure out how to do it, it would be Annabeth."

Percy radiated hope and it began to fill the room. Even Nico managed to not grimace for more than a few moments.