Betrayed But Never Forgotten

Are we sopposed to be dead???

Annabeth's pov

      

"You were supposed to ask about all three of them, not just Percy!" Nico hissed, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper as his dark eyes flashed with barely contained fury. His fingers twitched at his side, as if ready to summon the shadows that always seemed to hover around him. "Where ever Percy goes, Annabeth and Piper would probably be there too," Thalia whispered back, her electric blue eyes darting nervously between us, a storm of emotions brewing behind them.

I studied their faces intently, trying to decipher the complex web of emotions – desperation, hope, fear – all tangled together. Were they being honest, or was this just another elaborate lie? The years had taught me to trust no one, especially those who once called themselves friends.

"Why are you looking for him?" Percy asked, his voice hollow and cold, echoing from behind his obsidian mask. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees, and I could sense the darkness swirling inside him, threatening to break free.

Will stepped forward, his once-bright eyes now shadowed with years of fruitless searching. "They were forced out years ago," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "The three of us have been looking for them ever since, following whispers and rumors across continents, through monster-infested territories and abandoned godly domains."

"Why were they forced out?" I asked, feigning ignorance. The truth burned in my throat like acid, but I needed to see their true reactions, to witness the masks they wore crumble under the weight of their own deception.

Nico's face contorted with what appeared to be genuine confusion. "We honestly don't know," he said, running his hands through his disheveled hair. "One day they were there, the next... just gone. No explanation, no goodbyes."

"They're dead," Percy stated with chilling finality, the words falling like stones into a still pond. His voice carried no emotion, yet I caught the brief, twisted smirk that flickered beneath his mask – a glimpse of the darkness that had been consuming him more each day, like a cancer spreading through his soul.

Their faces crumpled in unison, hope draining away like blood from a mortal wound. Thalia stumbled backward as if physically struck, while Will's shoulders sagged under an invisible weight. Nico's face went deathly pale, the shadows around him deepening, reaching out like grasping fingers.

"Ar-are you sure?" Thalia choked out, her voice barely audible, electric blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. "We just want to know what happened. After all this time, we deserve that much, don't we?"

I drove my elbow hard into Percy's ribs before he could deliver another emotional death blow. "Meet us at Zeus's Fist tonight," I said quickly. "We'll tell you everything we know, and..." I hesitated, the lie bitter on my tongue, "...where they are."

Will's eyes narrowed suspiciously, his healer's intuition sensing the discord between us. "Why tell us they're dead if they're not?" he demanded, his voice hardening.

Percy turned to me, his black eyes blazing like Greek fire behind his mask. "Yes," he drawled sarcastically, "Why would we tell them they're alive when they're obviously not?" Each word dripped with venom, aimed as much at me as at them.

I glared back at him, wishing he could see the fury in my eyes. "We will explain everything tonight," I said through gritted teeth. They nodded reluctantly and backed away, disappearing into the forest like retreating ghosts. Percy stormed off in the opposite direction, his cloak billowing behind him like wings of darkness.

The silence between us stretched taut as a bowstring all the way back to the cabin. When the door finally slammed shut behind us, I exploded.

"What in Hades is your problem?!" I shouted, tearing off my hood and mask, flinging them across the room. The other warriors scattered, except for Charles and Silena, who remained seated, their eyes wide as they witnessed the rare fracture in our usually united front.

"I don't have a problem," Percy replied with deadly calm, methodically removing his disguise. His pitch-black eyes had stained to the color of a blood across shadows ocean, haunted by shadows I couldn't begin to understand.

I blocked his path to the boys' room, planting myself firmly in front of him. "Then why did you say 'They're dead' with such... such cold-blooded satisfaction?" I demanded, my voice rising. "You crushed their hearts, Percy. I watched the light die in their eyes!"

"I don't care!" he roared suddenly, the façade of calm shattering like glass. "And you shouldn't either! They are the reason we had to leave, the reason we lost everything!" His hands trembled with rage, and for a moment, I felt the water in the air around us respond to his fury.

"Yes, maybe they were," I conceded, lowering my voice, not wanting to push him further into the abyss that seemed to be claiming more of him each day. "But you should have forgiven them, like Piper and I did. Holding onto this hatred is destroying you, Percy."

"You two can forgive them if you want," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that was somehow more terrifying than his shouts. "But I never will. They made me leave the one place I ever truly belonged, the only home I ever knew. Everyone at this camp betrayed me, betrayed us."

"We still promised to talk to them tonight," I reminded him gently, reaching for his hand. His skin felt ice-cold beneath my fingers.He yanked his hand away as if burned. "You promised," he said, each word precise and cutting. 

"Not me. I'm done with this place, done with all of it." The look in his eyes chilled me to the bone – it wasn't anger anymore, but something worse: indifference. He pushed past me and disappeared into the boys' room, the door slamming with such force that the walls shook.

"What in the name of Chaos was that about?" Piper asked, materializing beside me, her kaleidoscope eyes swirling with concern. Her hand rested tentatively on my shoulder, offering silent support.

I sank onto the couch, suddenly exhausted, and slowly explained our encounter with Thalia, Will, and Nico. As I spoke, the other warriors gathered around, their faces grim with understanding.

Luke rose to his feet, his scar gleaming white against his flushed skin. "I'll go talk to him," he said with determination. "He can't keep going like this – it'll destroy him from the inside out."

"I should come too," Piper suggested, her voice laced with the subtle power of charmspeak – not using it, but ready to if needed. "He might listen to both of us."

I nodded slowly, considering. "You're right. That is, if we can get Percy to even open the door." I glanced at the boys' room, wondering what dark thoughts were consuming him behind that barrier.

Piper sat back down beside me, her fingers drumming nervously against her thigh. "What do you think happened to him out there?" she whispered. "When did he become so... cold?"

I had no answer for her. We could only wait in tense silence for Luke to emerge with Percy – or for the sound of another explosion of rage. The air in the cabin felt heavy with unspoken fears and the knowledge that the Percy we once knew was slipping further away with each passing day.