After All This Time...

Chapter 5 (part 2)

Suddenly the elevator dinged. Annabeth had been so focused on keeping the doors closed, on her muscles tense and engaged that it took her a few seconds to process the sound. Slowly, Annabeth took a step back from the doors, her entire body shaking.

For a terrible moment, nothing happened. The fear that Annabeth had kept carefully suppressed  from the moment she landed in the Cocytus, suddenly overwhelmed her. Her friends weren't here to meet her. Annabeth didn't know what happened to demigods who got trapped on the elevator to hell, but given her luck it would probably be painful.

Annabeth pulled Riptide out of the door. She knew it probably wouldn't do her any good, but it felt good to have a weapon on hand. Adjusting her hands on the worn leather grip, she remembered to space out her hands to allow for a greater range of motion the way Luke had showed her seven years ago.

Suddenly, the Doors of Death opened with a hiss. Annabeth almost dropped Riptide in surprise. She stared in disbelief at the cavern in front of her. Hazel and Leo were standing on the other end of the cave, white mist curling around the two of them so thickly she probably wouldn't have been able to see them at all if it hadn't been for the fire glowing in Leo's hands.

"Annabeth!" Leo cried out in disbelief.

Annabeth almost smiled. She stepped out of the elevator only to find herself surrounded by black smoke. Her exhausted limbs felt heavy, too heavy, and the ground hurtled up to meet her as she collapsed to the ground.

She faintly heard Hazel sob, "Oh, gods..."

But Annabeth couldn't see her friends anymore. Her eyes had closed against her will, and even though she was conscious still, it was if her body wasn't her own anymore.  All she could do was was lay helplessly on the ground and hope that her friends would come to save her.

"Clytius, you've lost," she heard Hazel snarl. "Let her go, or you'll end up like Pasipha."

Clytius. The name sparked recognition in Annabeth's head. He was giant. Born to oppose Hecate. You need a god to kill a giant. Who was Pasipha? She rolled the name around in her head, but eventually drew a blank.

In fact, Annabeth's entire mind went blank. Her body spasmed of its own accord and rolled on its back. A voice came out of her mouth that wasn't her own. She could hear the words coming from her own mouth but couldn't process them. She couldn't process anything except for the fact that her heartbeat was slowing down, and with the dark fog enveloping her mind she couldn't even bring herself to be sad about it.

Suddenly, Annabeth felt her body dissolve and reform. It was a horrible feeling, but at least she was the voice possessing her was gone. Experimentally, she flexed her fingers around the hilt of her sword. Every movement felt like the Phlegethon coursing through her veins, but she could move her body again. Slowly Annabeth opened her eyes to find herself sprawled at Hazel's feet, Leo was next to her, unsteadily getting to his feet.

Annabeth wanted to stand up too, but her body strongly disagreed. So she just laid there, looking up at Hazel, letting white mist wash over her as her heart came back to life.

Fire weakly flickered on Leo's finger tips. "What's going on? What can I—"

"Watch Annabeth." Hazel drew her spatha. "Stay behind me. Stay in the Mist."

"But—"

Hazel shot him a look that not even Annabeth would argue with. Good. Annabeth thought to herself, a small flash of pride ran through her.

Leo gulped. "Yeah, got it. White Mist good. Black smoke bad."

Hazel advanced. Leaving Annabeth alone with Leo, who kneeled next to her and gave her an impish grin.

The domed ceiling shook, and the giant's voice echoed through the room, magnified a hundred times, making Annabeth's head pound. She tried to focus on Leo who had pulled a square of Ambrosia out of his tool belt and was holding it to her mouth.