Demigods Assemble (PJO/MCU)

Chapter 31

Annabeth

The compound was starting to get crowded. After Coulson and his team had arrived, all the rooms were filled, even with Annabeth and Percy, Vision and Wanda, and FitzSimmons doubling up. Sam and Bucky were reluctantly sharing too, as well as Natasha and Clint, but unlike the soldiers, the two superspies had no issues after their long history of covert missions together. The Hunters were fine outside in their tents, but Annabeth still felt bad for them. She felt even worse the next day when everyone else showed up.

First, it was all the fighters from Camp Half-Blood. About midday, four Delphi Strawberry Service vans pulled up to the compound carrying a few dozen heavily armed teenagers. Annabeth was surprised at the number. Percy had said many people had their backs when he told them the situation, but as more and more demigods tumbled out of the vans, Annabeth's eyes widened.

There was Will Solace, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse La Rue, Grover Underwood, Katie Gardner, Butch Walker, Lou Ellen, Travis and Connor Stoll, Harley Keener, Jake Mason, Nyssa Barrera, Malcolm Pace, Clovis, and plenty of other campers Annabeth hadn't gotten around to meeting yet. Those that had met the Hunters of Artemis glared at them. Despite Thalia being the lieutenant now, the grudge between the Hunters and the campers was still very real.

Annabeth was just starting to wonder where the remaining Seven were when Festus landed beside the vans carrying Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, and Calypso. A moment afterward, Hazel Levesque materialized astride her immortal horse friend Arion, and a hawk swooped down next to her, transforming into Frank Zhang before touching the ground.

As soon as they got close to Arion, Percy grimaced and muttered, "That horse really has a lot to cuss about after just running here."

Finally, Chiron appeared in all his centaur glory, having opted to run to the compound on his own. Annabeth dashed up to him and gave him a hug. It had been too long since she'd seen him.

"Thank you for coming, Chiron," Annabeth said as she released her mentor.

"Of course, child." Chiron smiled warmly. "We will never leave our friends alone when they need help."

Percy and Annabeth gave introductions since they knew most people on both sides. Annabeth didn't think the Avengers were listening very closely. Some of those that hadn't met Festus already were staring at him, and everyone else was gaping at Chiron.

They had just finished going through the long line of introductions and driving the vans into the garage when another fleet of vehicles pulled up to the compound, this time transporting various warriors from Camp Jupiter. Annabeth recognized the centurions Larry, Leila, and Lavinia Asimov with her bright hair, but since she hadn't spent much time at Camp Jupiter, everyone else was a stranger. There were only a dozen of them, but once most of them flocked to Percy, she had a feeling they were campers he'd befriended during his brief amnesia-influenced time in the Twelfth Legion.

When they were done with those introductions, Annabeth inwardly groaned when the next group of fighters showed up. She was grateful for all the help of course, and she was sure they would need it in the next few days, but with the number of people there, it would be difficult to find somewhere to put them all, not to mention how to feed them. The Hunters had their own food, but none of the campers did, nor the group of Cyclopes that had just arrived.

Annabeth was surprised to see them arrive in a minivan. As far as she knew, Tyson didn't know how to drive, nor did any of his soldiers. The question of who was driving was answered when the car pulled up in front of Annabeth, and Nico's undead chauffeur, Jules-Albert, stepped out of the car. He nodded at Nico and dissolved into the ground as the five Cyclopes exited the vehicle.

"Brother!" Tyson shouted, tackling Percy in a hug.

Apparently, Percy had forgotten what seeing Tyson in person again after a while meant, because he was taken completely by surprise and the two of them toppled to the grass. Grover snickered while Annabeth helped Percy to his feet once Tyson got off of him.

"Brother?" Elena asked.

Once Percy had gotten his breath back, he nodded and coughed out, "Yeah, Tyson, he's my half-brother. He's also a Cyclops. It's good to see you, buddy."

"I brought my stick!" Tyson announced proudly, holding out his club for them to see.

Annabeth smiled. Tyson was so sweet and pure, it was hard to remember why Annabeth had ever hated Cyclopes. He bounded off to greet Frank, his other "brother."

"Is this everyone?" Fury asked after they finally, finally finished introducing everyone.

"Yes," Annabeth confirmed, very relieved. Her throat was growing sore after so many introductions.

Looking around, Annabeth was struck by how much power they had assembled. With the Avengers, Coulson's team, Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, the Hunters of Artemis, and the Cyclopes, they had a formidable force. Altogether, there were nearly one hundred fighters. Many of them possessed special abilities as well, almost doubling the value of their army. Annabeth just hoped it would be enough to take on Echidna, Phorcys, Keto, their monster army, and HYDRA.

With only one day until the supposed day of the fight, Annabeth's nerves were multiplying. She really hoped Fury's plan would work and that they could push the fight until July 22nd, but she didn't have high hopes. From what Percy had told her, Echidna seemed very sure that they would face each other on July 21st, and that she would emerge victorious. Combined with the prophecy, it seemed inevitable that the fight would occur in one day.

But Annabeth wasn't admitting defeat. She still refused to believe that the prophecy referred to Percy or that Echidna's success was guaranteed. They'd beaten worse odds before. Annabeth would fight with everything she had to defeat Echidna and her army and protect her boyfriend, and she would never give up.