.||Subject Five||.

~*Chapter Seven*~

- - Annabeth's POV - -

The next day we informed Frank and the rest of the gods about what we were planning tonight. We also told them about how we had failed to capture the hero. We had decided to stage a fire on the Olympus palace and we even asked Hephaestus to create the scene! He had created the fire to not harm us, but not so much the hero. A small price to pay, I thought. 

When we had captured him, Poseidon would douse the palace with water to put the "fires" out. Piper, Jason, and Hazel had the same jobs to do and I would be the damsel in distress. Frank would be in charge of the tranquilizers. This has got to work!

I finished my homework happily and went to go check on Percy, who seemed so stressed lately. I found him asleep with his head on the desk. He seemed to be trying his best on his work. I walked over to wake him up, but noticed some odd markings on his arms. Hmm, I thought with a frown. 

I was about to wake him up, until Piper called my name. I sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then left the room. "Annie I need some help with my essay!" said Piper, who was giving me her best puppy eyes and was using her charm-speaking against me. I sighed and went over to help out.

We finished an hour later, and it was almost dark. "I can't wait to finally find out who this guy might be! Our plan has to work!" I said excitedly. Piper squealed and stuffed her essay into her bag. "Omg me too Annabeth! His wings were so pretty! I can't wait to feel how soft the feathers are." she said.

~*T I M E  S K I P*~

Everyone met outside and we went over the plan again. When everyone was situated in their positions, I ran back into the palace. I signaled them on a walkie talkie to start the fires. Immediately, fires appeared everywhere. Even though it didn't burn me, the heat seemed so real.

"Great work! Now we wait. Hazel get ready to unmask him as soon as he's in your presence! Let's do this."

I situated myself in my bed with a blanket covering my mouth. I faked coughing and overall it looked pretty real. We waited only a few minutes until I heard a swoosh overhead and the sound of a window crashing. My door flew open as familiar raven-black wings appeared in the doorway. "ANNABETH?!" the figure shouted, running toward me.

How did he know my name? Wait...

Soon I was staring into the worried eyes of my dear boyfriend, Percy Jackson. "PERCY?! WHAT?! YOU?!" I screamed. His wings flinched as a pained look came across his face. He hurriedly scooped me up and used his wings to cover me from the "flames" and "smoke". "Percy, you need to get out of here!" I shouted. There was a whole trap waiting for him!

My protests didn't seem to affect him, as he was trying to find a way out of the crumbling palace. His breaths became labored because of the smoke and blisters appeared on his skin. He then spread his wings and ruffled his feathers, preparing to go through another window. "Percy.. NO!" I shouted. I didn't want him getting any more hurt than he already was.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." he said before ramming through the window. We were free falling through the sky, until Percy spread his wings out wide causing us to glide towards the ground. Then there was a shwoop sound as a dart was fired at Percy. He gasped and his wings faltered, causing us to start to lose altitude.

Percy used his wings to protect me at the last second before we hit the ground with a loud thump. His wings cushioned my fall, but not so much his. The impact caused me to roll away from him. Jason used his powers to drag me to where he was hiding. "Jason! We need to call off the plan! It's PERCY!" I shouted but it was too late.

I watched Percy slowly get up from the fall, limping slightly. He was looking around for me, but then started coughing violently. I then looked at his wings and realized that one of them was on fire. Percy screamed and flapped his wings frantically, trying to put the fire out. Tears ran down my face as I realized what we had just done.

A few more tranquilizer darts hit Percy, causing him to fall to his knees. Everyone seemed to recognize who it really was, because Poseidon ran to him and used his powers to douse the fire. Frank set down the dart gun and buried his head in his hands. Jason grabbed me and dragged me towards Percy. Piper and Hazel also came running.

Percy continued to cough and gasp for air with his wings flapping frantically behind him, urging him to get out of here. Hephaestus waved his hand to get rid of the fires, but there was too much smoke around Percy. I ran to Percy and put a hand on his face. He was trembling now, trying his best to back away from us. "Percy... you're okay... we're not going to hurt you.." said Piper with her charm-speak.

That seemed to do nothing, because he used his shaking wings to fold around him. He then stood up and tried to run. He spread his wings to reveal his burnt and blistered face as he started to fly away. Poseidon doused Percy with water, causing him to fall to the ground. With his wings now soaking wet, there was no escape. "Why...-" Percy weakly mumbled, before collapsing.