STRENGTH ✷ chapter five,
━━━━━ the heroes return, wings break free.
PUBLISHED . . . February 8th, 2024
EDITED . . . To Be Determined

   EVER SINCE THE ACCUSATION, NABI WAS TO BE WATCHED AT ALL TIMES. Of course, Luke had offered to be the supervisor — ensuring that he could always watch what she was doing. It drove her mad. She wasn't able to gain any evidence of her own, especially not when the culprit himself was constantly in her vicinity.

No one else, other than those present at the Senior Council Meeting, knew of Nabi and Clarisse's supposed betrayal. Luke had convinced everyone at the table to keep silent, claiming that if the rest of the demigods found out, all hell would break loose. Nabi knew better. He was biding time, keeping everything under wraps, until he revealed himself as the criminal.

Not only that, but Clarisse and Nabi were prohibited from speaking to each other. After discovering that the two had apparently worked together to steal Zeus' bolt, they were no longer allowed to do anything that might have given them reason to talk or 'scheme' alone. Rumours were circulating that they'd had a fight — everyone made sure to steer clear of Clarisse's anger that had doubled tenfold recently... though it wasn't because of Nabi.

   More so, Nabi's forthcoming deadline of leaving the camp. It was in two days... the last five of them were spent moping and uncovering absolutely nothing. How was she supposed to convince everyone who the real lightning thief was?

Nabi wasn't as angry as she was... sad. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to be punished for a crime that wasn't on her hands. During breakfast one morning, Connor and Travis were snickering at her dishevelled appearance. Travis laughed, "Trouble in paradise?"

   "What are you talking about?" Nabi frowned, swirling the milk in her cereal.

   Connor rolled his eyes. "The whole camp's placing bets. Did Clarisse do something? Is that why you're not talking? Because, no offense, but you look kinda rough."

   "No." Nabi said.

   In reality, she had laid awake at night to wait for everyone to fall asleep. Nabi had searched around Luke's bunk bed whilst they were all snoring, but there wasn't anything she could find.

   "Why do you look so gloomy, then?" Connor snorted.

   Nabi mumbled, "Just leave it."

   The two Hermes boys gave each other a look. Travis mumbled, "Y'know, Katie was telling us to 'stay away from you' yesterday, does your mood have to do with that?"

"She said that?" Nabi chewed on her food slowly, her frown deepening.

"Yeah. Actually, we overheard Pollux say a similar thing when the two were speaking." Connor shrugged. "Don't know why."

   She continued eating her breakfast in silence. Clearly, Luke's accusations had gotten into some of the counsellors' heads. She couldn't blame them, not when the proof that he'd faked was so well fabricated. Thankfully, she had the Stoll brothers. Travis grinned. "Turn that frown upside down, dude. Con-Man and I can cheer you up!"

   "Yup," Connor said, popping the 'p' and giving her a grin of his own, "how about we go pull some pranks?"

   The Stoll brothers never failed to cheer anyone up with their mischievous habits and silly ways — it was just how they were. They were probably the people who were closest to Nabi in the Hermes cabin. Nabi smiled, not being able to help it. "No way am I getting dragged into one of your pranks, guys."

   "C'mon, we've been over this," Connor dramatically sighed, "you cave in, say you're only gonna 'watch' us do it, then somehow get involved and we get away with it since you cover for us! You're our getaway card!"

Nabi rolled her eyes. "I only cover for you guys because I don't want the two of you to get in trouble! Not because I enjoy it."

"Yeah right!" Travis chuckled. "What about two weeks ago? Who was the one that came up with the idea to somehow break Chiron's portable stereo, so that it only played 'whip, nae nae' on repeat for a whole day?"

   "That was you, first of all," Nabi corrected, "and second, the 'neigh neigh' was a horrible joke. Chiron refused to show his lower half for like... a week."

   "Well—"

   Travis was cut off by Silena tapping Nabi on the shoulder. She said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Nabi about something."

Nabi hadn't been able to speak to her for the last few days. She felt nervous. Did Silena believe Luke? Nabi knew that Silena would never doubt her unless given a reason to... but the reasoning Luke had provided was pretty solid.

Silena and Nabi exited the dining pavilion. Once they were out of earshot, just outside of the area, Nabi blurted out, "I didn't do it."

"I know you didn't." Silena said.

   Nabi relaxed, and felt like she wanted to hug Silena—so of course she did. Silena returned it without hesitation, wrapping her arms around her. Nabi stuttered, "Thank gods... I— I thought you wouldn't believe me."

   "I know you'd never lie." Silena murmured, as they let go of each other.

She cupped Nabi's cheeks, gently. There was a pleading in her eyes; a softness to them that Nabi couldn't quite understand.

   "Then, would you believe me if I told you that Luke framed me because he was the traitor?"

   Silena frowned. "Nabi..."

   "Look, I know he's supposedly a great guy at camp, and I thought that too," Nabi muttered, "but why else would he blame it all on me?"

   "Maybe he truly does think you're the thief... I know it may not be true, but the proof makes it seem so." Silena sighed. "He might've just came to the wrong conclusion."

   Nabi knew she had no hope — if she couldn't even convince her best friend, then how could she convince all of the campers? Especially with no proof of Luke being the culprit.

"No! I'd feel the same if it weren't for the journal. I didn't write any of that." Nabi covered her face with her hands, "You don't get it! He had this guilty look, when no one could see his face drop! But I saw it. He knows I'm not the thief. He knows who it really is... and it's him."

"He might just be guilty because of your friendship, Nabi." Silena said.

"I'll prove it— I have to." Nabi said, desperation creeping into her tone. "I'll never be allowed into Camp Half-Blood again... and what if the gods decide to punish me for an act I never even did?"

She remembered what Percy had said whilst speaking to Luke, before the Iris message ended when she had walked in.

   "Chiron's gotta arrest her, find out what she knows. There's more to this than just the bolt — something bigger. Don't ask me how I know, you just gotta trust me."

   Something bigger...?

Luke was a good guy. Nabi had known him for so long that she knew it was true... but he had to have an ulterior motive. Maybe Nabi could help him if he'd just tell her why he'd stolen the bolt, discover his reasoning. Even after he had shoved all the blame on Nabi, she still wanted to make sure he was alright.

   But then what if he wasn't a good guy? Did that automatically make him a bad one? Why would he commit larceny? Why? Nabi kept asking herself the same questions; her train of thoughts were a circular railway.

   Not only that, but Percy, Annabeth and Grover had missed the deadline... the summer solstice had passed. People were anxious as to what had happened to them — for the past few days, it was all anyone could talk about. Most of the speculations had died down, with the camp still maintaining a sliver of hope.

Almost on queue, one of the campers — an unclaimed kid named Ethan — came rushing in, "Annabeth and Grover appeared! They said to expect Percy to be back soon!"

Everyone dashed out of the dining pavilion — awaiting good news and their returning heroes.

【 🦋 】

   MUCH TO NABI'S RELIEF, PERCY SHOWED UP NOT LONG AFTER THE OTHER TWO. Cheers erupted from campers, and everyone clapped as he walked through the crowds of people — he'd completed his quest. He had did it. She clapped alongside them, glad that Percy had made it back alive.

She watched as Annabeth appeared from the crowd to hug him. The clapping got louder. Through the roaring and cheering of everyone, Nabi's eyes searched for Clarisse. She was standing, staring at Percy, with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Clarisse didn't clap or show any of her thoughts on his successful mission.

Nabi turned to look for Luke. When she saw him beckoning Percy and Annabeth over, she took that as an opportunity to weave around the group of people and snatch Clarisse's hand — Nabi made eye contact with Percy as she did so. He definitely thought they were up to no good.

Once they'd gotten far enough, behind one of the cabins, Nabi said, "Luke has to be planning something."

"Yeah, that was kinda obvious." Clarisse muttered.

Nabi huffed, "Okay. What I'm trying to say is that Percy knows — there's something more to it... bigger than what could've been a war between Zeus and Poseidon. I don't know what he's plotting, but I intend to find out. I'm gonna follow him when I can. It's only fair since he's been watching my every move for days."

  "And what about me, huh?" Clarisse made a wry face. "I don't think I can do the same. They're watching me like hawks. Apparently, since I was the one who actually 'stole' the bolt, I'm more sneaky or something? I don't know, but Lee Fletcher's the one on duty following me around everywhere — won't let me out of his sights."

   Nabi bit her lip. "Do you think they'll kick you out, too? If they think we're guilty?"

   "I don't know." Clarisse sighed, frustratedly.

   "I'm sorry," Nabi looked up at her, a guilty expression on her face, "I don't know how you got dragged into this mess— well, I don't know how either of us did."

   Clarisse shook her head. "Do you remember what I said when we first met?"

   "Years ago? No, not very well."

   "I said you apologise too much," Clarisse muttered, "and you don't need to apologise for anything that isn't your fault."

   Nabi's lips curled into a downward smile, and she laughed. "You say I do a lot of things too much."

   "Yeah well, there are some things I wish you'd do," Clarisse mumbled under breath, "that you don't do at all."

   "What?" Nabi didn't hear her properly.

   "I said we should head back to everyone else." Clarisse turned around to leave. "They might already be suspicious of our disappearances."

  Nabi nodded. "Right."

  As they left, they went in separate directions, ensuring that no one had seen their secret discussion.

【 🦋 】

EVENTUALLY, THE SKY GREW DARK, AND THE CELEBRATION FOR PERCY'S QUEST BEGAN. People danced and sang around the campfire; cheered and laughed together. Nabi waited until she spotted Luke walking away, into the woods, with Percy. She slipped away from everyone to follow the two boys, making sure she was a good distance away from them.

   Somehow, she collided with an invisible force whilst doing so.

   "Annabeth?" Nabi murmured, incredulously. The Athena girl had taken off her Yankees cap — a gift given to her by her mother that gave her the ability to become invisible. "I— I swear, I'm not following them with bad intentions. I'm not the mastermind that Luke probably claimed I was."

   "I know." Annabeth nodded, a serious expression on her face.

   Nabi raised an eyebrow. "You... do?"

Annabeth shook her head, exhaling a breath that hadn't meant to be so shaky. "I know Luke best... and he's been acting weird for a while. I don't— I don't want to believe it but... I have my suspicions on who the real thief is."

Nabi understood. Annabeth and Luke were practically siblings, similar to Nabi and Silena. If Silena were to betray the one place Nabi had ever considered home; betray the people she cared about, then it would hurt Nabi in ways she couldn't imagine. Here, with Annabeth... the way the Athena girl's eyes had a certain fear in them, the way she played with the cap in her hands. It was the exact same, except the difference was the possibility that Annabeth wouldn't have to imagine it.

   Nabi could tell she was praying to every god on Olympus that it was false. If Luke's goals were bigger, able to wreak havoc on the world around them, a part of Annabeth would crumble.

"Listen," Annabeth explained, "Luke said that he 'spoke to Chiron and told him to meet away from the celebration,' but when I hinted toward Chiron about a secret meeting, he didn't seem to understand a thing."

   "Luke's gonna do something to Percy." Nabi swallowed.

   Annabeth nodded. "We have to spy on them, hear what Luke has to say."

   Nabi nodded, and the other girl equipped her cap back on. Annabeth vanished, her light footsteps in the mud were the only sign that she was on the go. Nabi followed close behind, though more cautious, since she wasn't invisible herself.

   The two girls had gotten close enough to hear Percy and Luke's conversation. They were still walking, looking up at the bright fireworks as Luke held a lantern to brighten their path. Luke laughed, "Talk about a celebration. They really pulled out all the stops for you."

   Percy stayed silent, staring at the ground as they trudged on. Luke tried getting him to talk. "C'mon, you've said, like, two words since we left the cabins."

   "Just..." Percy mumbled, "thinking about what the oracle said. That I'll fail to save what matters most in the end."

   They had stopped walking, standing next to an old structure that was hidden in the forest. Nabi and Annabeth were crouched behind a bush as they listened to them.

   "You're thinking about your mom." Luke said, placing the lantern onto a log. His face morphed into a sympathetic one, his voice lower. "I get that. Believe me, I do. But prophecies? They're so vague."

   Percy stared up at Luke, and for a second, Nabi remembered just how young he was — how he'd been thrust into their world so quickly. "The quest is over, and everything that the Oracle said has either came true or makes sense."

   "Has it?" Luke questioned.

   "'You shall go west and face the God who has turned.'" Percy recited. He continued to stare Luke dead in the eyes.

   Luke nodded. "Ares. Okay."

   "'Find what was stolen, and see it returned.'" Percy continued.

   Luke said, feigning unawareness as he shrugged nonchalantly, "Clearly, the bolt."

   "'And you shall be betrayed... by one who calls you friend.'" Percy swallowed.

"Percy..." Luke said, "it had to have been Nabi—"

"No." Percy shook his head, "It wasn't her."

   The fireworks boomed in the distance. The orange hues of the lantern reflected the panic in Percy's wide eyes. Nabi covered her mouth in shock, afraid she'd give herself away if she reacted. Realisation dawned on Percy's face, as he said it aloud, "The reason Clarisse and Nabi are still here... because you knew that Clarisse didn't steal the bolt— and we already found out Hades had nothing to do with it. The mastermind couldn't have been Nabi."

   Luke stayed quiet.

   "Clarisse didn't steal the bolt." Percy repeated, a slight tremor in his voice, "You did. You worked with Ares to plant it on me so that when the shoes you gave me pulled me down into Tartarus, the bolt would be delivered right to Kronos."

  "I didn't think you'd give them to Grover to wear."

   Nabi was about to make her presence known — interrupt them. She felt the need to leap forward and protect Percy from him. How could... how could someone that Nabi had known for years say something like that? How could kind, protective Luke ever think of betraying the gods? Annabeth pulled Nabi back down before she could get up, but the latter could feel the way the girl trembled as she grabbed hold of her.

   Annabeth was scared, too. Scared to lose her brother. Luke whispered, a hopelessness in his voice that made Nabi's heart sink, "I am your friend. Percy, none of this was meant to betray you. The gods are my enemy. You... I'm here to recruit."

   Percy looked terrified. "Recruit?"

   Slowly, Luke unsheathed a sword — Nabi's eyes widened. It was made of both celestial bronze and tempered steel; could hurt mortals, immortals, and everything in between. Including demigods... including Percy. Immediately, the son of Poseidon took out his own weapon, but he was shaking.

   Nabi felt a growing sensation on her... back? The area felt... itchy. It was as if her skin was stretching, somewhat a tingling sensation. She whispered, "Annabeth, Luke might—"

   "He won't hurt him." Annabeth muttered. She seemed to doubt her own words.

   Luke murmured, "Easy. I don't wanna fight. This is what I wanted to show you. This... is our way out."

   Percy asked, "Way out of what?"

   "Camp..." Luke answered, "and their control."

   He slashed at the air, slowly, in front of the structure that they were next to. Somehow, a portal opened where he'd sliced — one that was iridescent blue, shimmering. Luke took a glance at his sword, turning to Percy. "Backbiter can open secret doors. We can stay on the run for as long as it takes."

   The itching on Nabi's back was growing — it was becoming unbearable, agonizing. Percy furrowed his brows. "Stop saying 'we.'"

   A sinister smile, one that Nabi had never seen on Luke before, creeped onto his features. It didn't mix well with the scar on his face that usually made him look handsome; right now, he looked evil. "It's the word Zeus fears most. The gods want us to fight for them, worship them, fear them. And they couldn't care less what we want. They're bad parents, Percy. And they've gotten away with it for far too long."

   "No," Percy's voice wavered, "this is Kronos. He's gotten to you."

   Luke shook his head. "No. He opened my eyes to the truth. A golden age — that's what they called it when he ruled. We're gonna help Kronos bring the Golden Age back. Stealing the bolt and helm were easy, but for what comes next... we're gonna need all the help we can get."

   Luke turned around. Percy took that as a chance to clash his sword against his, aiming Riptide — his weapon — at Luke's chest. The other boy raised his own sword.

   "Our parents aren't perfect, but they're trying their best." Percy said, "I met your dad. But he—"

   Immediately, a flash of anger came across Luke's face. He leapt forward, and their swords met one another's. A series of slices and slashes rung throughout the forest, with both of them ducking and parrying each other's hits. For a moment, they were at a stalemate.

   "You did get better." Luke noticed. They continued their battle — a dance between blades. Percy lunged forward as Luke evaded, sidestepping to the right. As he did so, a slash of his weapon had opened up the portal once more.

   Nabi's heard was racing. She had to help. But Luke was so much stronger than her... she needed to find a way to protect Percy without engaging in a proper fight. Except, what if Luke slashed her and she— Nabi inhaled sharply. Now wasn't the time to be afraid.

She had to be strong.

Luke had backed Percy into a corner, kicking him until he was an inch from falling in and teleporting away. He raised his sword. "Last chance."

   The sensation on her back was too much — it was growing excruciatingly painful. Annabeth placed a hand on her shoulder as she curled into herself. Her skin felt like it was on fire, ready to peel off at any moment. She winced. Annabeth mumbled, "What's wrong?"

   Percy had managed to turn the tides. His sword was relentless as he continued attack after attack on Luke — then, he managed to land a hit; a gash across his chest. Percy said, weakly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

   When he apologised, uttered the words, Percy reminded Nabi of herself for a brief second. She saw the expression that Luke made. His pure, unadulterated rage morphed his face into someone Nabi couldn't recognise. She surged forward. He was going to slash at Percy.

   She wouldn't have been able to block Luke's sword in time. Not when her own weapon wasn't drawn, not when she was crouched too far away — but she had.

   Luke and Percy stared at her in shock. In front of Percy and Nabi, serving as a barrier between them and Luke's sword were... a pair of black avian wings.

   They had sprouted from her back, ripping holes in the back of her shirt, with one of the black wings draped around the two as a shield. It had happened so fast. Luke had turned to strike Percy, but instead, his blade met the feathers of Nabi's wings and drew blood — staining the dark colour with a sickening red. She winced at the pain she felt. A blue-ish black glow from above reflected against Luke and Percy's faces.

   "How...?" Luke was speechless.

Percy gaped. "That's..."

   Nabi looked up. Above her was a symbol; an inverted torch with a butterfly perched on the top of it. Luke muttered, "You're not a daughter of Hades... You're..."

   "A daughter of death," Nabi breathed, "Thanatos."

   Her heart was ready to leap out of her ribcage, even when the symbol had long faded. Percy inched backwards, making sure Nabi's wings could still protect him. Luke shook his head. "You can't stop me, Nabi."

   "Luke, why are you doing this?" Nabi swallowed.

"Stay out of this," Luke said, "I wouldn't have needed to frame you if you hadn't overheard that conversation. I didn't mean to get you involved, I promise. It was just a plan B, in case I was caught. You never would've gotten dragged into this—"

"You stole the bolt, you tricked everyone." Nabi paused. She needed to taunt him, distract him from hurting Percy. "Your father. God of thieves and trickery..."

   Luke growled, his eyes were sharp daggers. "Don't ever compare me to him."

"Doesn't this conversation sound familiar? Weren't you the one who said, 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'?" Nabi reminded him.

He swung at her, and she grabbed Percy so that they could narrowly avoid his weapon. Luke wasn't aiming for Percy anymore — after the remark about Hermes, he was aiming for her. Nabi knew she couldn't best him in a sword fight, so instead, she tested her wings out. She hovered slightly above the ground, flapping her wings to swiftly dodge each of Luke's hits. He scowled as he had a hard time focusing on where to land his blows.

"Percy's right," Nabi said, "Kronos is using you — look what he has you doing! It isn't too late for you to confess. We can help you. Hurting people won't solve any of this. Hurting people you care about, people like Percy... people like—"

He paused. Nabi thought that she'd gotten through to him. Her shoes sank back onto the ground, she was no longer flying or hovering, as she gave him a reassuring look... but she was too hopeful. He raised his sword.

As he was about to land a dangerous strike to Nabi, an invisible force blocked his weapon. He parried the dagger that had came his way — the person revealed themself. Luke's eyes widened, a flash of hurt and guilt as he breathed out the name, "Annabeth."

Annabeth unsheathed her sword. "I heard everything."

A torrent of emotions was evident on Luke's face. It was three against one. He knew he couldn't win. Especially when it was Annabeth against him. She had made him falter, made him hesitate. He gave one last look at all of them, BEFORE RUNNING THROUGH THE PORTAL HE CREATED AND LEAVING THEM BEHIND.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗔'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦!

જ⁀➴ guys! season two has been renewed and confirmed and i am buzzing and i cannot deal and omg i am screaming ‼️😝 i am not okay... but at the same time like, i am? anyways, huzzah!

  so, did you enjoy it? did you expect her godly parent? i left hints throughout the last few chapters, such as her journal having poppies — a symbol of thanatos, as well as butterflies being mentioned a lot! this was longer than i intended it to be, and i lowk haven't proofread it but i will later, so uh, yippee! thoughts and opinions would help and be super great, tysm for reading guys!