We Find Out That Hylla Isn't As Innocent As We Thought
I groaned and stared at Thalia's tree. "Can't Gaea give us a break?" Peleus the dragon was still curled around the bottom of the tree. The Golden Fleece still hung there, but something was off. It looked . . . fake.
"Apparently not." Percy closed his eyes. "Lucky for us, it's just them. No monsters."
"I don't suppose they're under a white flag of truce?"
"Unless you qualify swords strapped to their backs and in their hands—as well as knives strapped to their legs—as equivalent to a white flag of truce, then no."
I hung my head. "Okay then, let's get this over with." I stalked down the hill. The dark form of Otus met me first. I turned and Zoë stood with me.
Tyson showed up again, along with Mrs. O'Leary. Tyson tossed me up onto Otus' face and I smashed his nose in. I jumped and slid down his arm, using my knife to slow my fall and cause some damage. When I touched the ground, there was a long gold line traveling down Otus' arm, while he bellowed in pain.
Zoë loaded several arrows, aimed at his arm, and let them fly. Otus howled, with three arrows sticking out of his arm. He started to disintegrate, but with is good arm whacked Zoë so she flew back up the hill. Then all that was left of him was a pile of dust.
Hippolytus stomped forward. Nico appeared by my side. He manipulated the shadows around the giant to keep him from seeing us easily. Mrs. O'Leary bit his ankles and ran away. I slashed at his knees until two fountains of golden ichor sprouted from his kneecaps. Nico sent bolts of darkness into the wounds and his body turned black.
"You may want to watch the company you keep." Hippolytus spoke, before he froze into stone.
I walked up to the statue and tapped on it. As soon as I touched it, it broke apart and became a pile of dust like Otus had.
I left the hill and found Percy. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along with me into the Big House, where we saw Chiron.
"Ah, Annabeth. I was just doing some research on Gaea, to see if I could find anything that would help with your curse. And how the monsters keep getting past the barrier." Chiron smiled and gestured for us to sit down, which we did. We sat in front of the ping pong table, which was covered in ancient mythology books.
"And we may have a traitor. Before Hippolytus died, he said, 'You may want to watch the company you keep.'" I reported.
"Well then, let's get going." Percy pulled a book over to him and slid one over to me. Chiron picked up another and we each opened our books and started to read.
We read for hours, scouring each book for anything that could help. Demigods and satyrs alike came in to ask a question, but not one of us reacted. They eventually left when they realized we wouldn't say anything.
We found many facts about Gaea, and the first Giant war. But nothing about any curses that Gaea controlled, and certainly nothing about how to lift one.
I froze, and realized something. "I got it!" Percy and Chiron looked up at me, hope written all over their faces. "The monsters are able to pass the barrier because the Golden Fleece is gone. There's a fake one there."
"Bravo. Took you longer than I expected." Mock clapping filled the air and Gaea stood in the doorway, the Golden Fleece draped around her shoulders.
Percy and I bolted to our feet and pulled out our weapons. "What do you want?" I demanded.
"Actually, it's what you want." She tossed the Golden Fleece in our direction and Percy grunted while he caught it. "I don't need my army to get in here anymore. You can have it."
Gaea strolled around the room. "I'm actually here for something else entirely. Well, someone else." She faced us. "You can come out now."
A woman's figure walked down the stairs that led into the attic. When she came into the light, I gasped.
"Hylla?" She slowly nodded, looking miserable. "What—How—Why?"
"I—" She started but Gaea cut her off.
"You mean, you haven't told them?" She laughed. "Well, that needs to be fixed." Gaea grabbed Hylla's face and forced her to look at us. I could see her eyes watering, but no tears spilled. She was continuing with her tough, Amazons profile. "You see—"
"Wait!" Hylla stopped her. "If they're going to find out, at least let me tell them."
"Fine."
Hylla took a deep breath. "I have a sister. Reyna. She's a Roman demigod, like me. She has the power to destroy the gods if she were killed." She growled. "Gaea found out, and she's been blackmailing me into helping her, in exchange for removing the power from her and not harming her."
"Reyna is now a normal daughter of Bellona, nothing special about her. This lady made it possible for me to replace your Golden Fleece." Gaea smirked and stroked Hylla's long black hair. Hylla flinched.
I looked into Hylla's eyes and saw everything. She was in agony. She wanted nothing to do with Gaea, and felt like she was betraying me. My gaze softened on her.
"It's not your fault, Hylla. Don't blame yourself." I lowered my dagger.
"Actually, all of this is her fault. A little prophecy told me that she played an important role in this war. And from the sound of it, it didn't look good for you." Gaea gripped Hylla's arm tightly and she broke.
Hylla screamed and threw her fists everywhere, metal flying through the air. Gaea was quick, and in the blink of an eye Gaea held both of her arms with one hand, a small knife in the other.
"Wrong choice." Gaea started to glow. "See you on the battlefield. Ta ta." I closed my eyes and turned away, and the light burst. When I looked back, Gaea and Hylla were gone, and Chiron looked like he had aged ten years.
"Well, we have one answer." Chiron sighed.
Percy finished, "But twice the amount of problems."

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Too Many Memories
FanfictionAnnabeth mourns the death of Thalia, only to become enraged when she finally finds out she is alive with Percy's team. The guilt only piles on when another close death occurs. Unable to handle all of the memories at Camp, Annabeth leaves to join the...