ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

xxxᴠ ᴀɴɴᴀʙᴇᴛʜ | ʟᴇᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴏᴡᴇʀɢɪʀʟ

Annabeth doesn't even need to sneak around to get into the venue. It's in this wide-open space, exposed to any threat. How the hell is she supposed to secure a place like this? It's vulnerable from all sides!

It looks like she'll be wearing chopsticks to the wedding after all, and probably sneaking her sword in too. Hopefully, that's within Hazel and Piper's dress code. If not, well, it is now. They'll need all the protection they can get. Who knows what they're looking at. Maybe she should bring the throwing knives. You never know when you'll need throwing knives.

The venue is kind of bare, which isn't inherently a bad thing. It's good Percy mentioned the bachelor party is making a stop here to decorate. Unless that just makes things worse. Knowing the guys, it's either going to be beautiful or incredibly tacky.

A smile threatens Annabeth's face, and she winces. Yep, those piercings are definitely infected. That, among other things, can be Future Annabeth's problem.

She weaves through the little white seats, checking underneath each row for any foreign objects. Nothing there. Good.

Annabeth's avoiding the aisle, whether she knows it or not. Should she? She probably should, but it's weird, isn't it?

She finds herself standing at the very back, staring down at the altar. Christ, this is daunting. Why is Hazel doing this again? Annabeth's not even getting married, yet she's about to become a runaway bride.

Deep breath.

Annabeth takes a step onto the fake grass, mostly hoping that nobody sees her, but yes, also hoping that she's not about to step on a landmine or something. You can never be too paranoid about these things.

She quickly and awkwardly makes the trip up to the altar. It's better for her to get killed walking down the aisle than for Hazel to on her wedding day.

A cool breeze hits Annabeth's stomach, and she tugs her shirt down self-consciously. Why would Will pack the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt? It's absurd, really, and it doesn't even fit her right. She packed it away in a box for, like, sentimental reasons or something, along with Percy's AHS swim team hoodie, which it seems Will also thought would be fun to pack. What a little shit.

She steps onto the altar, wood creaking beneath her feet. Okay, it's not the most structurally sound, but is it dangerous? Probably not. Is it technically even an altar?

The rowdiness from the bachelor party pulls Annabeth out of her thoughts.

Not sure of what to do, she backs behind the center podium and crouches down. Not the best hiding spot, but once again, she doesn't have a better alternative. She's not the luckiest, is she?

"Woo! Look at me! I'm like a real flower girl!" shouts Leo. It's gotta be Leo. Who else would be excited about that?

"Okay, guys!" The sound of a single clap causes Annabeth to jump and hit her head against the wooden podium.

"Shit," she swears under her breath. The floorboards snap apart beneath her. She struggles to pull her ankle from the splintery hole it's stuck in.

One more two-handed tug and she's good, right?

"Frank, does it matter what way we put the little flowers on the chairs? Like do you want purple and white alternating or like-"

"Nico, we're a bunch of guys decorating the venue for a wedding. I'm not too particular. Just make it pretty, okay?"

Sharp splinters break the skin on Annabeth's ankle. The floor is about to give way, and she needs to either call for help or commit to falling through.

The latter sounds like a more feasible option.

She's about to dangle her foot further down the hole to test the waters, and make sure there aren't any, well, waters below.

It's not the most elaborate plan, but it's a plan. Too bad she doesn't get to follow through with it.

Let's just say that falling flat on your ass is neither fun nor comical. It's probably going to leave a massive bruise that'll hurt whenever she sits down. Will's going to tease her endlessly over it, but not before offering her an ice pack and some painkillers.

"Did you guys hear that?" a muffled voice asks.

"Uh, no! I didn't hear anything! Must have been the wind, heh," Percy laughs it off.

It sounds pretty awkward up there. Annabeth would like to feel secondhand embarrassment for Percy's failed attempt to cover for her, but she has more pressing issues.

"Oh, shit! Oh, holy shit!" She jerks her arm to the side, violently shaking it. Something's on her wrist, something's on her! It's a spider; shit!

Her vision adjusts to the darkness of the cavern and she can scarcely make out the squashed spider on her wrist. It doesn't hurt; it only stings from slapping herself silly. No spider bites- just the ones on her face.

Annabeth traces the wall with her palm and stands up with shaky knees. She glances upwards. The hole from which she fell is too high to reach, and there's seemingly nothing on the wall to grab on to, so she'll have to find another way out.

She takes a deep breath, her shirt riding up on her once again as her lungs fill with air. This time, she doesn't bother fixing it.

So, if she came from the hotel back that way, she should go... this way!

Nope. Dead end.

"Guys, I'm sure I heard something," one of the guys says. Frank?

"You're all nervous about this wedding; I'm sure it's just jitters," says Percy.

The floorboards start creaking, and Annabeth's attention is drawn upwards.

"Hey, guys, this doesn't feel very safe," Percy says.

His hand reaches down into the Annabeth-sized hole. Maybe if she tries, she could reach him, but she can't be seen calling Percy for help. How embarrassing would that be?

"Oh no! It's broken!" Frank cries out.

"Relax, man. I'll fix it right up," Leo says. "It'll be better than ever with a little bit of Leo magic!" He continues to talk, but his voice becomes quieter, further away.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. What's up?" Percy asks.

"You don't seem okay," Nico says.

"I... Nico, I'm losing her." Percy's voice cracks.

"Hey... Hey, it's gonna be okay."

"I think coming here was a bad idea. Seeing everyone is just-"

"I know."

"It's all my fault," Percy says.

"No, it's not." When did Nico get so good at dealing with other people's feelings?

"I've been talking to Will again. Maybe we can get him to talk to her."

Oh, hell no. If they think they can use Annabeth's best friend as a way to get to her for some weird Percy scheme, they're wrong.

"That's okay. I don't want to make Will do anything he's not comfortable with," says Percy.

"Hey!" shouts Frank. "You guys coming?"

"We'll catch up!" calls Nico. And then he adds, "Do you still feel up to going? I don't mind dragging Leo back to his room at the end of the night."

"I'll be fine," says Percy. "C'mon. We should catch up before Leo does something stupid."

Nico chuckles, and then after some more creaking from above, the guys are gone. Or at least, Annabeth thinks they're gone.

She was never actually with them, but the absence of their voices makes her hyper-aware of the emptiness of the tunnels she's fallen into. She's alone in the darkness.

Here goes nothing.