The Exchange

48- Annabeth Drops A Bombshell

Annabeth stared at Nico for a split second. Then she slapped him out of his stupor.

"You're a dick Nico." She told him, "you knew what would happen in that tunnel and you didn't warn us!"

Nico shook himself back to reality, "Annabeth I swear I had no clue!" Nico eyed her as if she were about to punch him (which was something she was still debating.)

"You're serious?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "you didn't know?"

"Not a clue!" He promised, "what did happen?"

"It doesn't matter," Luke piped in quickly

Annabeth's mind immediately jumped to Percy, "where's Percy?"

Nico looked at his feet.

"Nico?" Annabeth asked in a warning tone.

"He's not dead," Nico still refused to make eye contact with her, "I know that for sure."

"If he's not dead, then where is he?" Annabeth took a step towards him and intensified her glare, sometimes Nico was too cryptic, and it annoyed her.

Nico didn't say anything, he just shook his head. Annabeth wheeled on her heels and stalked off towards camp. Snape and Luke hurried behind her.

"Annabeth you do realise that they'll probably try to kill us if we just walk in," Luke told her as they speed walked towards camp, "I'm not exactly a class favourite around here!"

"Luke, everyone forgave you after you sacrificed yourself," Annabeth didn't slow her pace.

"I am not Mr Potter's favourite teacher either," Snape spoke for the first time in a while.

"I'm sure you'll both be fine!" Annabeth exclaimed. They exited the woods to see a few campers here and there. The volleyball court was empty however as all of the campers seemed to be training. Annabeth ignored the campers giving her looks and sprinted faster, leaving a wheezing Snape and Luke behind.

She sprinted into the big house right in the middle of a war council.

"The borders won't keep her out-." Jason was saying as Annabeth barged in, cutting him off.

Everyone stared at her with their mouths hanging open.

"Percy's missing," Annabeth told the silent room. Their looks of confusion turned into masks of horror.

Then all at once the entire room flipped out, they started yelling at each other and simultaneously asking Annabeth loud questions. None even noticed Luke and Snape run straight into Annabeth, knocking her over. When she climbed to her feet everyone had fallen silent again, the wizards (they seemed to have massively multiplied since she had last seen them) were gawping at Snape, and the demigods (even the ones who hadn't been around for the second Titan war) were staring at Luke. Everyone was shell shocked.

The only person who didn't seem confused by anything that was happening was Piper McLean. She sat in her chair with her arms crossed and her lips pressed into a thin line. As everyone broke into their second round of shouted questions. Piper's patience seemed to run out.

"Shut it!" she yelled, Annabeth swore that she must've put some charmspeak into her words, "Yes Annabeth's not dead anymore, yes the blonde guy who I'm assuming is Luke Castellan is not dead, and whoever that guy who I'm assuming died is not dead anymore, but let's face it, if Percy is missing we have bigger things on our plate."

Just at that moment Nico slunk into the room.

"Nico," Annabeth turned on him, "What happened."

Nico shrugged helplessly, "we were talking, and then everything went black and the next thing I knew Percy was gone."

"Anything else?" Piper pressed him.

Nico nodded, "there was the smell of acid and the air seemed to turn poisonous for a split second."

Annabeth felt her jaw drop, she couldn't believe what Nico was saying, "No." Annabeth shook her head, "No, no, no!"

"Yes," Nico nodded.

"Yes what?" Luke looked from Nico to Annabeth and then back again, "what do you two know?"

"Percy's in Tartarus." Annabeth whispered, but everyone could still hear. The reality of the situation settled over the room, no one wanted to believe it. But it was true.

No one spoke for a long while.

Finally Snape piped up, "we need to find a way to get the boy back, the only way to defeat Nyx is to have Hecate's chosen ones send her back to Tartarus."

"and how do you know so much Snape?" Ginny glared at him.

"Percy will find his way back to us." Annabeth spoke up, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke, "he always does."

A small bit of cheese at the end, but whatever...
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~Em xx