If Percy Hadn't Caught Annabeth

Part 8: All But One

    The chamber rumbled. Another stela crashed to the floor and shattered.

    "The House of Hades is unstable," Hecate said. "Leave now. We shall meet again."

    The goddess dissolved and the Mist evaporated.

    "Always polite, the gods and goddesses," Annabeth mumbled.

    The others turned towards her, as if just realizing she was there. She was sitting on the cavern floor next to Percy, who was still knocked out from his encounter with Clytius. Her hair was ratted, her skin looked pale, but her gray eyes shone as they always did, even if they looked older.

"Back from Tartarus!" Leo whooped. "Thank the gods!"

Piper threw her arms around Annabeth and cried.

"Dude," Jason grinned, nodding his head in approval.

    Annabeth smiled at her friends, looking dazed. She still had one hand on Percy's back. Before she could say anything, the ceiling shuddered. Cracks appeared in the remaining tiles. Columns of dust spilled down. There was no time for celebration.

    "We've got to get out of here," Jason said. "Uh, Frank..."

    Frank shook his head. "I think one favor from the dead is all I can manage today."

    "Wait, what?" Hazel asked.

    Piper raised her eyebrows. "Your unbelievable boyfriend called in a favor as a child of Mars. He summoned the spirits of some dead warriors, made them lead us here through...um, well, I'm not sure, actually. The passages of the dead? All I know is that it was very, very dark."

    To their left, a section of the wall split. Two ruby eyes from a carved stone skeleton popped out and rolled across the floor.

    "We'll have to shadow travel," Hazel said.

    Nico winced. "Hazel, I can barely manage that with only myself. With seven more people--"

    "I'll help you." She tried to sound confident. She'd never shadow-traveled before, had no idea if she could; but after working the Mist, altering the Labyrinth-- she had to believe it was possible.

    An entire section of tiles peeled loose from the ceiling.

    "Everyone, grab hands!" Nico yelled.

    They made a hasty circle, including a passed-out Percy in their linked hands. The cavern collapsed, and they dissolved into shadows.

    They appeared on the hillside overlooking the River Acheron. The sun was just rising, making the water glitter and the clouds glow orange. The cool morning air smelled of honeysuckle. They marveled at the sunlight in the trees. Nico realized he was still holding Percy's hand and quickly let go.

    Leo staggered backwards. "You know... I think I'll sit down." He collapsed. The others joined him. The Argo II still floated above the river a few hundred yards away. They knew they should signal Coach Hedge and tell him they were alive, but at the moment the group was too tired to do anything but sit and relax and marvel at the fact they were okay.

    They began to exchange stories.

    Frank explained what had happened with the ghostly legion and the army of monsters-- how Nico had used the scepter of Diocletian and, and how bravely Jason and Piper fought.

Hazel then recapped what had happened in the cavern, recalling her fight with Pasiphaё and Clytius and how Hecate had stepped in. She finished with explaining how Percy had fallen and hit his head after he had charged the giant in a failed attempt to save Annabeth.

"Seaweed Brain," she teased quietly, a faint smile dancing on her lips.

Frank turned apprehensively to her. "But, Annabeth... Tartarus has to be the real story. What happened down there? How did you...?"

Annabeth's eyes flickered. For a split second, her glazed expression bore a startling resemblance to Nico di Angelo's. She looked down, her gaze landing on Percy as he drooled in his sleep. The corners of her lips turned up and formed a small smile.

"I'll tell you the story," she promised, keeping her eyes on Percy. She laced her hand through his limp one. "Just not so soon. I don't want to remember the place just yet."

"I hate to interrupt," Piper said, giving Annabeth's other hand a squeeze. "But I think our ride is coming."

The Argo II veered into port, its aerial oars in motion, its sails catching the wind. Festus's head flinted in the sunlight. Even from the distance, they could hear him creaking and clanking in jubilation.

"That's my boy!" Leo yelled.

As the ship got closer, it became clear the Coach Hedge was standing on the prow.

"About time!" the coach yelled down. He was doing his best to scowl, but his eyes gleamed as if maybe, just maybe, he was happy to see them. "What took you so long, cupcakes? You kept your visitor waiting!"

"Visitor?" Hazel wondered aloud.

At the rail next to Coach Hedge, a dark-haired girl appeared wearing a purple cloak, her face so covered with soot and bloody scratches that Hazel almost didn't recognize her. Reyna had arrived.

As they began to board the ship, Annabeth stayed put on the grass.

"You all go ahead," she insisted. She could hardly wait to see his sea green eyes. "I'll wait for Percy."

[I released Part 7 and 8 today (July 12, 2017) so if you missed Percy charging the giant, and want to read it, go back one part:) ]