Shockwave (Percy Jackson/Michael Vey Crossover)

Chapter Twenty Five

Annabeth's POV
My hands had slapped over his mouth of their own accord, but the damage was already done. Brayden was breathing heavily in his anger and his words came out in splutters as he pushed me away. "There!" he screamed, "Now you know the truth! I was going to tell you after he had left you to assume his Titan form, but no! Annabeth Chase just has to know!" The door swung open and Hatch strode through the door, both Eagles trailing behind him. My body was having a hard time processing this new information. I was mentally shaken, but the Titan Lord was in control and you couldn't see how much this news had affected me.

Hatch raised a slim eyebrow, his arm crossed over his chest, "So she knows?" Brayden took a shaky breath as he struggled to calm himself down. "I'm sorry, Admiral-General." Surprisingly, Hatch only smiled, "She was going to know eventually. And it is not as if she can tell her friends. But I suppose it was C10 information and we should follow protocol. However, you are a great asset and I would think two days in Cell 25 would be necessary." Brayden's eyes widened, "No, please. Hell is better than there!" Hatch snapped his fingers, a small vortex appearing in the floor next to Brayden. "I can arrange that as well, Mr. Tuckerman." Brayden's eyebrows furrowed and he followed the Eagles out of the room, not ashamed, but definitely not happy.

Hatch turned his disgustingly calm face to me and his lips formed a tight line as he stared into my golden eyes. "Well, Ms. Chase. I know you and your pesky little brain are already planning some way to get out, or to at least warn your friends. But you will be under tight surveillance 24/7 and if for some reason that fails, you do have a Titan Lord residing within you." I felt the golden glare recede from my eyes and suddenly I could speak again. "My friends will best you," I croaked, "With or without me there to help them. When they do, I will be laughing, whether from the Underworld or the Mortal Realm, I do not care. Mark my words, Tartarus. This June, you will finally arrive at an opponent you simply cannot best." My heart caught in my throat as Tartarus waved behind him, where an Iris Message was shimmering.

With a smirk on his face he retorted, "Is that a threat I hear, Ms. Chase? An enemy I simply cannot best? Take a look at your so-called heroes and tell me that they will win. A one way Iris Message." I saw the entirety of the Electroclan confined to the infirmary, the Apollo cabin tending to their many wounds. I saw Michael hobbling around without crutches, in a way that made my old ankle injury throb in sympathy. The image shifted and I saw Piper and Hazel with Frank, Leo, and Calypso, who were trying their best to console them. Again, the image changed. Camp Half Blood was being fortified by the Romans and the Hephaestus Cabins, but that could only do so much. The last image was what finally weakened my resolve. It was Percy, without the carefree, happy smile on his face. Without the company of people. His eyes were broken, his hair more disheveled than normal, and his face gaunt and miserable. Hatch's laugh sent shivers down my spine as if pieces of styrofoam were being rubbed together. "These are your heroes, your saviors. And they are broken. They are weak. They are this close to losing hope. How will they be prepared for battle in two months? Can they possibly stand against me? With my eons of experience, of simmering anger and need for revenge? I think not."

I could not stand to look at him any longer. I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the floor, hoping to shield my defeat from him. I prayed to the gods, to anyone who could help me. I prayed for my friends and hoped that they would receive my message, that they would hear my one thought, no matter who far I was from any of them.

The only thing you can't afford to lose is hope.

Percy's POV

June was approaching much too quickly. The demigods, the hunters, and even some of the Amazons were working as hard as they could, but even then we might never see summer. The Hephaestus and Athena cabins had pulled away Michael to Bunker Nine for some kind of experimental defensive mechanism, and despite his injuries, I let him go.