Chapter 26: Finally

Annabeth peeked out of her prison, eyes narrowed as she surveyed her surroundings. She had already dispatched the two Cyclopes guards outside her cell to Tartarus, and she knew she needed to move quickly. She quickly withdrew her head as a group of dracaenae slithered by. Reversing her grip on her dagger, she darted to the first piece of cover she had seen: a pile of cracked masonry.

She pictured the monster camp around her in her mind. Straight ahead of her would be the fastest way to the path down the mountain, but it would also take her right through the heart of the camp. Going right would take her through the ruins, but would also lead her towards what looked like a command center, and she had no plans to face Koios in this escape. So her options were left or backwards. Backwards would take too long so left it was.

After waiting for another group to pass, Annabeth darted out of cover and made for the rubble on her left. She silently thanked the Romans for leaving such a mess when they destroyed Mount Othrys during the Titan War. It left a lot of good hiding places when one is trying to sneak around a ton of Greek monsters.

Because a lot of people find themselves in these situations.

She moved quickly and quietly, trying to lessen her chances of being noticed. The early morning light also helped, casting long shadows for her to hide in. The wind blew her hair into her face and she brushed it back, thanking every wind god she could think of that it was blowing from her right to the left. She may have to put up with the stench of unwashed monsters, but it was better than them getting a whiff of fresh demigod. Besides, they had nothing on Percy's week-old dirty laundry.

After a few minutes of careful sneaking she had managed to circle most of the camp and the only thing that lay between her and the path down the mountain was...

Thorn.

Of course.

Because the Fates hate her.

She should really stop being surprised.

The manticore in question was standing guard at the head of the path. Thirty feet of open ground were lying between them. Thorn was gazing out down into the Garden of the Hesperides, making sure nothing could enter the camp without passing him. Or exit.

He was still wearing the military uniform, and Annabeth could hardly look at it without remembering that night years ago when he'd kidnapped her. And in his hands...

Annabeth ducked behind a fallen piece of masonry, wheels in her mind turning. He had her invisibility cap. If she could just get it back it would make her escape a lot easier. Not to mention all the emotions that were tied to it. Her first gift from her mother (only gift, honestly). She couldn't just leave it. But was it worth the risk of drawing Thorn's attention?

No, she shook her head as if that would shake the idea away. There was no way she would be able to get it without getting caught first. It wasn't worth it. She leaned out from behind the rubble, a twinge of pain from her arm reminding her why it was such a bad idea.

So instead she focused on how she could get past him. She was in the middle of planning an elaborate diversion involving several boulders and a small avalanche when a rumble of thunder nearly made her jump out of her skin. She looked up, but the sky was clear except for a few clouds that were golden near the sunrise. Then she looked to her right and her heart skipped a few beats.

Because she had gone left initially, the entire monster camp was laid out to her right, and about hundred feet away, just in front of a trapped Atlas, was a... tear?

She didn't know how else to describe it. It was like a god had grabbed a hold of the air and torn a hole in that one spot. Inside, she could see... nothing. And the smell...

Her stomach plummeted, and she covered her nose, trying to block out that smell. She was too far away to get a full whiff of it but remembered it vividly. In order to escape the Pit, both her and Percy had had to take a ride in the Doors of Death. They'd fought back, threatening to spill them into whatever laid behind them. And that smell... it had permeated everything, from the one-time Percy allowed his door to open a crack to the final moments where the only thing she could remember was the feeling of her entire being protesting the jarring transition from Tartarus to Earth. It had been excruciating, and she shuddered just thinking about it. There was a reason that she and Percy never spoke of Tartarus to any of their friends. Just that smell- sulfur, decay, death- was nearly enough to send her into a panic attack. She could nearly hear the booming laughter of Tartarus...

No, she thought firmly, gritting her teeth in determination. She couldn't lose focus, not now. She was too close to freedom to blow it now. Come on Annabeth, she berated herself. Pull yourself together!

She lowered her arm from her nose and focused on Thorn. He was watching the Tear with anticipation and... was that surprise?

She took a deep breath and looked back at the Tear just in time to see it stretch and spew out a horde of monsters. They kept coming and coming and Annabeth's eyes got bigger and bigger as a crowd of monsters the size of a small army assembled before her. She'd gotten a good look at the camp in the last few minutes, and this would add a sizable chunk to their already worryingly large numbers.

Annabeth was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She ducked back behind the debris and listened as she heard loud footsteps walking away from her. After a moment, she peeked out again, gazing in disbelief at the now unguarded trailhead. After doublechecking to make sure it wasn't a trick, she dashed over, shooting a quick glance over at the new monsters and the growing crowd of onlookers.

She had just reached the edge and was about to start sprinting down the path when a booming voice stopped her in her tracks.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Annabeth immediately dropped to the ground, lying prone in the dirt to lessen her chances of being seen. She quickly slipped below the edge of the mountaintop before peaking back over the edge, curiosity getting the best of her.

The Tear had disappeared, though Annabeth thought she could see a slight distortion in the air where it had been, though it was difficult to tell at this distance. Thorn had made it to the main group of monsters, which she could see now was mostly made up of Cyclopes, dracaena, hellhounds, telekhines, basically the most common monsters that make up a Titan army. She could also see a few Earthborn and hydra scattered throughout the crowd.

The source of the commanding shout was Koios, whose silvery glow was definitely less powerful in the light of the now-risen sun. He was dressed in full battle armor, his Stygian iron breastplate with its bright diamond unmistakable on his chest. The monsters all stood at attention as he approached.

The largest Cyclopes stepped forward. "Lord Koios! The demigod has escaped!"

The moment the words left the monster's mouth, the entire camp seemed to freeze. Annabeth's breath caught in her throat. How could they know? she thought frantically. There was no way the guards she killed had regenerated in Tartarus so fast. She cursed. The primordial must be speeding up the process. What else could explain the enormous army in front of her?

She was startled out of her thoughts by the eruption of noise and chaos in front of her. The lesser monsters were panicking and running around in confusion, while Koios, Thorn, and a few others were trying to rein in the chaos. Annabeth took it as her cue to leave and she lowered her head, crawling back several meters before her escape was noticed.

Sprinting downhill is difficult enough, but this was a steep mountain with rocks and other hazards trying to trip her up. It was a miracle that Annabeth even made it to the Garden of the Hesperides. It didn't help that she'd been held captive by monsters and hadn't eaten nearly enough to keep her strength up.

She reached the edge of the garden without incident, and immediately slowed to a walk. She could see the giant, shimmering form of Ladon, the dragon guardian of the Apples of Immortality. The creature was similar to a hydra, with dozens of heads, but way more powerful. Annabeth knew that she couldn't afford to make a sound here, and she once again found herself wishing for her invisibility cap.

The sun was now completely risen, and Annabeth could see the dense forest below her, as well as the ocean, though a fog obscured most of the city. A strong wind blew in from the west, and she sighed softly as the strong smell of the ocean hit her nose, momentarily overpowering the scent of eucalyptus. Percy, she thought wistfully, before clearing her mind and focusing on her task, she slowly began creeping on the very edge of the garden, keeping at least fifty feet between her and the dragon at all times.

When she reached halfway, a movement drew her eyes inevitably to the dragon, and she was shocked to see one head staring right at her. She froze briefly, before continuing slowly. She wasn't here for the apples, and she had to trust that the dragon's urge to protect the tree would be greater than it's urge to feast on demigod.

Their eyes remained locked though, and Annabeth suddenly felt like a snake charmer. Like if she blinked or looked away, the dragon would erupt into a whirlwind of teeth and claws. And she had seen firsthand the damage it's poison could do. Her heart panged as she remembered Zoë, the Huntress she'd only met twice, but had died to help save her.

Annabeth was approaching the opposite entrance to the garden when she heard the noises. She broke eye contact and turned to see the first group of monsters charge down the mountain. They'd must have finished searching the camp and were now expanding their range.

Ladon's many heads spun to face the inturders the moment they entered the garden's perimeter, and Annabeth thanked the gods that she was so close to the exit. She was now the lesser threat, and she could run and count on Ladon to at least delay her opponents. After all, he wasn't just there to guard the apples from mortals.

She reached the exit and began sprinting away just as the fighting started. A quick glance back showed Ladon tearing the other monsters apart, while some tried to circle it while also calling for reinforcements. Annabeth turned back to the path in front of her and raced into a patch of fog, emerging quickly and darting into the trees that surrounded the mountain's peak.

APAPAPAPAPAPAPAPA

Percy hopped off of the Quinjet and took a deep breath. The smell of the eucalyptus trees around him bringing back a lot of memories, most of them bad. He turned to see Steve and Nat walking up behind him, both wearing their uniforms. "Are we ready to move?" he asked the tall soldier.

Steve nodded. "Tony's scouting right now, he'll let us know if he sees anything from the air. We're leaving the Quinjet, Clint, and Bruce here for backup. In case of an emergency, they can come help us out."

Natasha held out a small earpiece. "Here."

Percy hesitated. "I explained the whole 'no phones' thing, right?"

The super-spy rolled her eyes. "It's just in case we get separated and need to contact you. You don't have to use it, but you are taking it with you." She grabbed his hand and placed the slim piece of tech inside. "Now put it in and let's go."

Percy reluctantly slipped the earpiece in as Steve pointed out what button to push to turn it on. Then the three of them jogged off into the woods surrounding the clearing they had landed the Quinjet in as Bruce and Clint wished them luck, disguised as some clever insults.

After running for five minutes, occasionally hearing the Iron Man suit pass overhead, they were nearing the top of the mountain. The trees were thick around them, slowing them down slightly, but they still made good progress, though Natasha had to redirect them several times when the boys' sense of direction failed. Percy spent the time thinking about Annabeth. He hadn't dreamed about her the night before, so he had no idea if she was okay. His mind kept jumping to worse-case scenarios, and he was only able t stop when Steve relayed that Tony's sensors had picked up movement near them.

As they moved closer to investigate, Steve explained. "The trees are too thick for Tony to get a good read on it, but it's moving fast and its at least humanoid in shape, other than that, Jarvis can't tell."

"How close are we?" Percy asked, eyes searching the foliage in front of them, easily jumping a fallen tree trunk.

Steve shrugged slightly, dodging a small copse of trees before he replied. "Less than a minute. Stark found a small clearing we can confront it in."

They reached the area first and spread out slightly, Steve in the middle with Percy and Natasha on his right and left, respectively. Riptide was drawn and ready without Percy even needing to think about it consciously. Steve's shield was positioned in front of him protectively and Natasha's handguns were in her hands, locked, and loaded. All three were still hidden by the trees' shadows.

A moment later, Percy could hear the rustling as whatever was running at them grew closer. The three of them tensed and...

A blonde-haired teenage girl came running out of the forest.

Percy's mind froze and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. His heart stopped because she was right there...

He was moving before his brain had caught up with his body. He crossed the clearing in a flash as he cried, "Annabeth!"

A moment later, all his brain could process was that she was in his arms, and that all was right with the world again. He forgot all about the possibly-world-ending conflict that they were facing, forgot all about the super soldier and spy that were probably watching, and just breathed in the scent of his Wise Girl, his Annabeth. He turned his head slightly and pressed a chaste kiss on the side of her head, and gasped slightly as her arms tightened around his torso. Gods, he loved this girl!

After he'd managed to assure himself that she was actually here, and that she wasn't going to disappear, he pulled away slightly, staring into those gorgeous grey eyes. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and his heart nearly burst out of his chest when she rolled her eyes at his gesture and raised her hand to rest it on his.

He raised an eyebrow and gave her that cocky troublemaker grin he knew she loved. "You're not going to judo-flip me again, are you Wise Girl?"

PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP

Steve realized a split-second after Percy who was standing in front of them, and by the time he had, the teen was already sprinting towards her. When she first saw him, Annabeth Chase had brought her knife into a defensive position. But by the time Percy had reached her, she had sheathed it and was running towards him as well. They met in the middle of the small clearing and immediately embraced each other.

Steve smiled widely, happy to see Percy's love returned to him. He turned to Natasha and saw her concealing a small smile. It was impossible not to see the love the two had for each other, and the joy they had upon reuniting was infectious.

And then of course Tony had to ruin it.

Out of nowhere the genius-that-always-found-a-way-to-act-like-an-idiot dropped into the clearing ten feet away from the newly reunited couple. Annabeth had Percy pushed behind her and her knife out faster than Steve could blink.

Luckily, Percy was able to hold his girlfriend back before she attacked, though it was a close call. Steve quickly walked over to his teammate's side, not wanting to move to fast in case Annabeth took it as a threat. He could have kicked himself for not thinking this through. The last time the daughter of Athena had seen them, they'd attacked her and Percy, knocked her out, and kidnapped her boyfriend. Of course she wasn't going to be happy to see them.

By the time he and Natasha reached the group, a heated discussion was already in motion.

"-ones that kidnapped you, Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed. "They attacked us twice and now you're telling me to trust them?"

Percy ran his fingers through his hair, the stress and embarrassment clear on his face. "Yes?" Annabeth gave him a dirty look and he quickly continued. "Look, what happened before was kind of a misunderstanding. They thought I was a terrorist with superpowers, which you have to admit isn't the craziest thing I've been accused of."

Annabeth's face turned into one of reluctant agreement before she asked another question. "But how much do they know?"

Percy's eyes lowered slightly, almost as if he were ashamed. "The generals but nothing specific. I took them to camp."

Annabeth's face went white. "It's that bad? Please tell me someone gave you permission."

Percy nodded slowly. "My dad wasn't exactly happy about it, but I won't be hit by a lightning bolt any time soon."

Steve could see some of the tension flow out of Annabeth's shoulders as she sighed in relief. "So you know about the prophecy?"

Percy's eyes darkened. "Yeah. They know too, and they helped me get here so fast." Steve figured this was a good time to cut in.

"Hello Ms. Chase. My name is Captain Steve Rogers, and this is Agent Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark," he began, gesturing to each of his teammates in turn, "I would like to apologize for our actions both in New York and just now." He shot a pointed glare over at Tony who was getting a firm talking-to by Natasha a few yards away. "Percy here has told us a lot about you," he finished with a warm smile, extending a hand to the young woman.

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, and Steve resisted the urge to squirm as she surveyed him with those stormy eyes, looking for any sign of distrust. Luckily, she didn't find any, and she took his hand in a firm grip. She gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted, Captain. Though forgiveness might take a little bit longer, just ask Hera."

Steve chuckled. "I'll take what I can get."

Percy seemed to relax now that introductions were out of the way and all weapons were still holstered. He quickly turned to Annabeth. "How did you escape?" he asked, more than a hint of concern in his voice. At this point Natasha and Tony had rejoined the conversation, with Tony looking sufficiently scolded and Natasha triumphant.

Annabeth directed her answer to all four of them. "Once I got out of my chains, I killed the guards and snuck out. But before I left, Tartarus sent word that I had escaped through a regenerated monster! Nothing's ever regenerated that fast, so I ran. I made it through the Garden and past Ladon pretty easily, but the first search parties weren't too far behind me, so we should probably get going."

Percy nodded in agreement and looked at Steve for his approval. He was quick to give it. "Alright then, let's get back to the Quinjet. Our other two teammates are over there, Agent Clint Barton and Dr. Bruce Banner."

The small group began running through back the way they came, hoping to stay ahead of their pursuers.

They had been running for a few minutes when Annabeth stumbled. Percy was immediately by her side as she stood, brushing it off as nothing, but Steve could tell she needed a slower pace. She'd just escaped a monster camp after being imprisoned for nearly a week and being poisoned and half-starved, if what Percy had told us was even partially correct. She'd been running hard before we found her, and she needed a break.

But before they could start moving again, the woods around them erupted into noise.

Steve brought his shield out, subconsciously making sure the sharpened bronze rim was attached firmly. A glance at his teammates and the demigods showed they were ready as well, and they instinctively formed a small circle to protect each other's backs, with Percy on his left and Tony on his right.

Howls tore through the morning air along with the clashing of metal on metal and grating laughter. Steve gripped his shield a little tighter as he listened to it. Then, the shadows around them came to life, and Steve was confronted by a mad, snapping hellhound. He quickly ducked behind his shield, narrowly dodging the snapping jaws, and swung his arm out, landing a solid punch on it's head. In the few moments the dog was dazed, he used his shield's edge to end the monster. As he finished, he looked up to see his team finishing their own small battles. Tony and Natasha had taken out the most, with the handguns and repulsors allowing them to do damage from a distance. Percy and Annabeth fought together, their movements screaming about how much trust and experience had been built between them, and they dispatched several dracaena.

Steve narrowed his eyes as he scanned their surroundings. Any shadowy movement was a threat, and still the grating laughter hadn't stopped. Steve gritted his teeth and breathed deeply, before raising his finger to his ear and activating his com. "Clint, we're under attack! Unknown number of assailants. We found Annabeth but we're going to need a pickup. Bring the Quinjet and hover above our position. Get as close as you can to the treetops and we'll come to you."

"Copy that, Captain. Bruce and I are on our way. ETA two minutes." The archers response was quick and no-nonsense. This definitely wasn't a time for jokes.

"Steve look out!" Percy's panicked shout startled Steve into action, and he instinctively raised his shield just in time for several fast projectiles collided with it. He grunted as the force of them created vibrations that just about numbed his arm. He looked down to see several spines on the ground. Unable to pierce the vibranium and celestial bronze combination, they'd fallen to the forest floor uselessly. The super soldier looked up to see a familiar figure emerging from the shadows surrounding them. A snarl from Percy just confirmed it.

"Thorn." A glance at the demigod showed him the absolute hatred the boy held for the monster in front of them, and Steve was shocked to see that the venom was matched on Annabeth's face. Although, he couldn't really blame her. This monster had kidnapped her twice, and that wasn't something that was easily forgiven. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natasha disappear deeper into the forest and quickly spoke up to distract from the movement.

"Nice to see you again, though I have to say you are a disgrace to that uniform," he said, gesturing to the formal military suit, the same one he'd been wearing when he visited Percy, Tony and Steve at Avengers Tower to taunt them.

The manticore snarled in his direction before turning to Percy. "Hiding behind mortals now, Jackson? That's a new low, even for you. But then again, you always were good at running from a fight."

Percy made to charge forward, but Steve threw up an arm to stop him. They made eye contact briefly, and the teen reluctantly stood down. Steve didn't know what Nat was up to, but he had to buy her some time.

"You're one to talk Thorn," Annabeth spat, venom lacing her voice. "Never were one to do the dirty work, were you? You'd rather leave it to the lesser monsters while you sit back like a coward."

Thorn roared in anger at her words before his body began to transform. The uniform rippled and disappeared, and he fell forward, landing on hands that suddenly transformed into paws. Steve finally got a good look at the tail, a menacing five-foot-long black thing, curved like a scorpion, and bristling with long spikes identical to the ones at his feet. His main body morphed into a giant cat's, but at least twice as big as any lion or tiger. Only his face remained the same, the expression of rage seemingly permanent. The tail flashed, but before Steve could raise his shield again, Tony flew in front of the small group of three and shielded them with his armor. Percy and Annabeth then charged the beast, vicious shouts erupting as they drew close.

"Kill the mortals!" Thorn roared, and suddenly, the surrounding woods were full of Cyclopes and dracaena. "The demigods are mine!" Then the manticore pounced, and everything dissolved into chaos.