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Chapter Text

TW: Manipulation, violence, death, and gore

Thalia POV

"You know this is a bad idea, don't you?" Thalia asked, staring at Annabeth and hoping she could talk her friend out of this before it was too late.

"The gods are failing at their jobs, and they have been for centuries. Soon they'll all disappear like Pan did," responded Annabeth, her voice much too indifferent for such a powerful topic. "I'm just getting ahead of the game. Making the transition easier."

Her tone was so Annabeth and so foreign at the same time. Thalia heard her speak like this when strategizing for capture the flag or reciting facts from one of her books, careful and analytical. But she had never heard that tone when talking about an idea as crazy as this. Something that could mean life or death for demigods, herself included. She sounded emotionless- like this was a simple fact rather than a tipping point in her life.

In Annabeth's free time on the Argo II, she had come up with a plan (though Thalia suspected that it had begun approximately 5 months before that). A plan to "create a system that was effective" and "didn't give people unfair amounts of power" as she had put it. She wanted to overthrow the gods and institute her own way of ruling the universe.

Thalia knew that Annabeth wasn't doing this out of anger or bitterness- she genuinely thought the world would be better off if the gods weren't in charge. And she knew that the daughter of Athena would never resort to a dangerous force like Kronos- she didn't need to. With a powerful child of the big three on her side, she hardly needed to ask for help.

What worried Thalia the most was Annabeth's pride getting the best of her. Ever since the girl was seven, she had been the most stubborn and confident person Thalia knew. It was the reason she had survived so long. But she also knew that hubris was Annabeth's fatal flaw, and if anything could take her down it was her own conceit.

Annabeth POV

When Thalia said nothing in response to her statement, Annabeth began to study her intently. She had assumed that Thalia and the Hunters would side with her- Artemis had never been a fan of the Pantheon and Annabeth had no intention of interfering with her Hunt. Plus, Thalia was one of her closest friends. She knew better than anybody that Annabeth was the right person for the job, and the fact that she didn't support her stung.

Annabeth forced herself to brush the feeling aside. After all, none of that would matter once her plans were complete. The Hunters resisting her may cause a slight issue, but nothing she couldn't fix in time. Thalia was still staring at Annabeth as the blonde let out a curt laugh.

"If you aren't going to help, you should go. Percy and I are awfully busy," she spoke, annoyance seeping through her voice. Thalia finally looked away, averting her gaze to the cloudy sky.

"All the things you're asking him to do... They're going to hurt him, you know," she said in a quiet, but determined voice. Annabeth had been careful to not reveal any emotions during the conversation, but Thalia's statement nearly made her break.

"I have never put Percy in harm's way, and I never will. You know nothing about us, so I suggest you leave right now," she said coldly, her hand coming to the drakon sword at her waist out of instinct.

Thalia seemed to bite back whatever comment she was about to make and turned away from Annabeth, marching off into the woods. It took everything in her not to scream after the huntress, to tell her just how wrong she was. But soon Thalia was gone, and Annabeth had a feeling they wouldn't be talking again for a long time.

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Annabeth started to notice just how many campers would stare at her throughout the day. Mealtimes were the worst, when everyone was gathered together and she could see all the heads turn to look at the child of Athena sitting at the Poseidon table.

Percy and her had been inseparable since the fall. Hedge, Chiron, and even Mr. D knew it was best to let them both sleep in the Poseidon cabin, eat meals together, and do pretty much anything at camp as a team. It was rare to catch Annabeth anywhere without him, her recent meeting with Thalia being the exception.

Of course she told Percy about her plans. He was the only one to know for a long time, until Annabeth had a more concrete process in mind that she could convince others of.

"Do you think I'm losing it?" she asked him one night on the Argo II.

He looked at her with those beautiful sea green eyes and troublemaker smile that she had come to adore and replied, "Not at all. Crazy people never wonder if they're crazy." She smiled softly into his chest. Annabeth knew that he may just be telling her what she wanted to hear, but that didn't bother her. Knowing Percy's on her side was all the comfort she needed.

The rest of her free time that summer had been spent planning. Annabeth knew she had been distant from her friends and siblings, but quite frankly she didn't think it mattered. It would be worth it in the end.

Every time Annabeth thought of the future, her future, she felt a giddy happiness. She couldn't help it- the excitement bubbled up inside her, intoxicating her like a drug. The idea that something so violent shouldn't make her so elated only crossed her mind every once in a while. She managed to ignore the concern most of the time.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry, but you won't be allowed to lead a team in capture the flag anymore," Chiron said when she had taken a seat in the Big House. He had called for her down early that morning.

"Excuse me? I'm the best strategist camp has; my team won the game last night in record time," Annabeth responded, her eyes forming a cold, hard glare at the centaur.

"And that resulted in a record number of injuries. A camper is dead. This isn't your first warning, and now other campers are demanding that you be banned from the game."

Annabeth was stunned. Sure, last night had turned out a little more violent than usual, but she had won. Wasn't the point of practicing battle like this to learn that you must do whatever it takes to be successful? She had too many friends that died gruesome deaths fighting for their cause. How was this one camper any different from all of them?

Percy spoke up from his seat next to her. "It's not Annabeth's fault what happened to Cecil. He volunteered for the job." Chiron's gaze was shifting between the two of them. He looked concerned, though Annabeth had no clue why.

"You shouldn't be making a plan that involves that kind of risk in the first place," he said, his attention returning solely to Annabeth. What risk? She wanted to ask. There was nothing uncertain about whether or not Cecil was going to die. It was a part of her plan from the start, not some mishap, but telling Chiron that probably wouldn't change his mind on the subject.

"You will no longer be allowed to play capture the flag, and that's final."

Annabeth wanted to argue with him, to scream that he was wrong, but he got up from the table and was out the door before she could get a word in. Annabeth didn't understand it. Why was she being punished for doing what she's been trained for her whole life?

Percy grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it. "I'm sorry about this," was all he said.

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The first step in her plan was, of course, to gain support. How exactly to do that was the question.

Annabeth had never been the best at manipulation. Sure, she could do it, but nowhere near as well as some. She recalled a period of time at camp when she kept getting in trouble and Luke tried to teach her how to get out of it using her words. Luke was a master at manipulation and probably one of the best people to learn from, but it didn't go very well for her.

"Sometimes arguing gets you nowhere," he had said. "Sometimes you need to pretend to be on their side." Easier said than done, Annabeth had thought. She couldn't hide her feelings as well as Luke did. When Annabeth believed something, everyone around her was going to know about it. He gave up trying to teach her around the time Kronos entered his life. It seems that he had more important things than helping Annabeth.

Now she wished she would have put more effort into those lessons. They would be extremely useful right now in her mission to win the support of as many demigods and minor gods as possible. Sure, most of her friends and fellow campers would never oppose her, but that was different from having their unwavering loyalty. That was something she felt she could only obtain through manipulation. And since that wasn't her strong suit, she needed someone else's help.

. . .

It was a sunny afternoon and Percy laid stretched out across the dock next to Annabeth. She took advantage of the stillness to look at him, examining his relaxed features. Moments like these were something they couldn't have imagined last summer with the looming threat of Gaea's armies, which just made the peace all the more precious now.

"Perce, can I ask you a favor?" Annabeth spoke, breaking the silence that had settled over them in the heat. He lazily opened his eyes halfway and settled his gaze on her as he responded, "As long as it doesn't involve standing up." She let out a chuckle and took a deep breath.

"You're better with people than I am, and I was wondering if you would-"

"Hold up. I am not better with people than you. You're friends with practically everyone at camp."

"That's not exactly what I mean." Percy's eyes were fully open now and he gave her a quizzical look. She held eye contact with him for a moment before looking up at the sky and pouring out her thoughts.

"I just know for this to be successful, there has to be a certain level of puppet mastering behind it, you know? Plenty of people are angry at the gods, but getting them to pledge their loyalty to a specific cause, that's the trick. Uncoordinated rebellion would only end in disaster," she gushed. He didn't butt in so she continued. "And so I got to thinking about how we've done that sorta thing in the past, and I thought of Bob. Of how you convinced him to hold the doors open for us, but it didn't even seem like you were doing it at the time. That's what I need. I need you to do that with minor gods."

Annabeth finally quieted and turned back to look at Percy. Part of her worried that he would call her insane or turn her down, but he gave her a lopsided smile and placed his hand on her arm.

"I can do that. Just tell me we're not dealing with another titan, because I've had my fair share of those already," he said. She breathed out a laugh and relaxed onto her back again.

"No titans. Just us."

The rest of the warm afternoon was spent on the dock lying in each other's arms. The tranquil silence returned, giving Annabeth time to think about her strategy and, more importantly, about Percy.

Every single time she had begun to doubt that he would stay by her side, when the thoughts that he was going to leave just like Luke and Thalia had entered her mind, somehow he knew. And he did just what he needed to do to remind her that he chose her. Time and time again he proved that he cared for her like no one else had. It meant more to Annabeth than she could possibly put into words, but there was one thing she could say: she loved Percy Jackson with all her heart.

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Locating minor gods was an easy task. Most had a lot more free time than the 12 Olympians and came to camp regularly to see the cabins honoring themselves or simply to visit with their children. But camp, surrounded by her friends and siblings, was no place to go about the business she had, so Annabeth devised a system.

Her and Percy would wander out into the woods with a picnic basket, supposedly going out for lunch. In the dense trees they would wait for whatever deity had visited that day to leave main camp, and once far enough away from people, they would jump into the god's path feigning being lost and strike up a conversation. From there, it was all up to Percy.

Annabeth, of course, explained to him what role each minor god needed to play. When and where they were needed, how much commitment it would require, and so forth. She had put so much time into planning out every minute detail that it was foolproof already and she simply needed people to get on board. There was no space for "suggestions" from others- people's suggestions were only ever a polite way of saying you're wrong.

It was really something to watch Percy work. Annabeth never had much time to admire his talents while they were fighting for their lives, but now, in a less threatening situation, she could sit back and appreciate his way with words. It was different than Luke's manipulation; Luke utilized fake compassion like it was nothing and ended up making Annabeth feel confused about absolutely everything.

Percy, on the other hand, was shrewd and straightforward with what he said, leading the conversation where he wanted it to go. It was his number one survival tactic and had saved Annabeth's life more times than she can count.

"Perhaps it's poor luck that you two are unable to find your way back to camp in this rain. Though I will say, that isn't my doing" the deity said. Sheets of cold rain had begun pouring down around them sometime in the past 5 minutes, stinging their faces, but the two demigods weren't deterred quite yet.

Tyche, the greek goddess of chance and fortune, stood before them in a pale green toga, an overflowing horn in one hand and blindfold in the other. Her curly brown hair wasn't damped by the rain- a modest display of her godly powers. Annabeth had seen plenty of divine beings before in all their glory, but still she plastered a look of amazement onto her face.

"We were just hoping so badly to meet you. I've heard you're the most marvelous of all Zeus' children," Annabeth said, shoving all the innocence she could into her voice.

"Thank you, my dear, but you are wrong about that. My father is the titan Oceanus," Tyche responded. She looked up to the heavens dreamily, standing that way for a moment, until she was seemingly pleased with herself and began to meander into the words. Quickly, Percy spoke up, drawing her attention back to themselves.

"But I've always heard that Zeus is credited with your creation. Isn't he the one that gifted the Greeks with good fortune through you?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion for effect. The goddess turned back towards them sharply. Just as intended, he had struck a nerve.

"That's absolute foolishness. Zeus hasn't done a single thing for the Greeks in his life. It's been me who's granted them prosperity, me who's warned them of dangerous risks. That good-for-nothing sorry excuse of a king has no right to play the hero. Don't you children believe a word he says."

The demigods nodded eagerly in response. This resentment was just what they needed to tap into, and it seemed to be overflowing in the goddess.

"He's lied to everyone, yet he still gets whatever he wants. Isn't that what qualifies a person for bad luck?" Percy said, his ingenuous voice hiding the powerful implications of what he said. Tyche stood over them for a moment as if in deep consideration. He took the moment of silence as an opportunity to instill another idea in her head. "Doesn't Zeus' temple at Camp Jupiter sit over a fault line?"

It was a simple enough observation. Yes, a fault line ran through California and reached to Temple Hill, but they had never experienced any tremors there. New Rome had excellent technology for detecting possible earthquakes. But say the reports went unchecked for a day, just by chance. And an earthquake occurred, just by chance. One that, just by chance, only damaged Jupiter's temple. That could cause some serious upheaval on Olympus. That might even result in a shift in power, if played right. And Annabeth knew how to play it right.

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*TBM spoilers*

The rest of Annabeth and Percy's interactions with the minor gods went as planned. Nike was difficult, as expected. She still remembered the time the demigods had kidnapped her and forced her onto the Argo II, but the temptation of a victory got her on board. All of the divine pieces were falling into place, just as Annabeth had imagined. She once again found herself giddy at how far she had come, about how much control she was gaining over the situation. It was a lovely feeling.

"Piper! I'm so glad I ran into you, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Annabeth said, running up to her friend who had just returned to Camp for the summer. The daughter of Aphrodite was catching up with her siblings she hadn't seen in nearly a year, and a smile spread across her face as Annabeth approached.

Annabeth led her away from the group so they could speak privately. As they walked, she ran through the words she had rehearsed a million times in her head. Jason was dead, it was Zeus' fault, etc. What Piper needed to hear to get on board. Annabeth felt a sour nagging in the back of her head telling her that she shouldn't bring up such a tender topic just for persuasion. This won't matter once I make everything better, she reminded herself. She had to push away the guilt. It would only stop her from doing what it takes to fix the world.

They arrived in the strawberry fields and sat down next to each other on the dirt. This was the spot they used to spend their free time in the spring that Percy was missing, watching the satyrs in the field and Annabeth filling Piper in on everything and anything about her missing boyfriend. Now he was back, and it felt strange to be sitting here again.

Their conversation started casual enough, asking about the school year and so forth. Annabeth waited patiently till the subject she was waiting for came up.

"The school that Jason an- the school that I went to in October was miserable. You should be glad you didn't plan a visit," Piper said. She tried to cover it up in her words, but her body language gave away the grief she felt at the mention of Jason. Annabeth knew she should feel sad about what had happened to him too, but where there should be the pain of loss in her chest she found nothing. She was sure she had experienced that feeling at some point- probably when her own Grace sibling had died 8 years ago- but now she couldn't quite recall what it was like.

Annabeth turned to Piper and faked the best empathy she could. "Listen, I know I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry. I don't know how you've felt, but I do know that it didn't need to happen."

Piper stared at the dirt ground in silence, tears forming in her eyes. Finally, she spoke. "I know it didn't. It wasn't even his quest for crying out loud. Sometimes I think that.... call me crazy, but sometimes I think Zeus wanted it to happen."

The daughter of Athena nodded in encouragement. Piper was making her job too easy.

"I agree. After all the things we've been through, after Jason spent years serving the Legion, being killed by a Roman emperor seems like a cruel joke only the gods would find funny," Annabeth said.

Piper let out a dry laugh that lacked any real humor behind it. "I know. I've spent too much time thinking about that, and I keep coming to the same conclusion: there's absolutely nothing any of us can do about it." Her voice wavered slightly and Annabeth could tell some charmspeak was seeping through as it tended to do whenever Piper was really upset.

"Maybe not alone. But the gods aren't invincible, especially to charmspeak. Together, we could make Zeus pay for what he did. Don't you want that?" Annabeth asked. She had gathered up all the emotion she could muster and put it into her voice, hoping to convince Piper that this was a fight they could win together.

"Do you really think we could stand up to them?" Annabeth nodded. That's exactly what she had spent the last year thinking about. "Then it's worth a shot. I'm in," Piper said, a sad but hopeful look in her eyes.

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Annabeth had completed all the groundwork that could be done in New York. Now she was off to California to deal with one of her biggest concerns: Camp Jupiter. She didn't require the Legion's support, but she had to make sure they wouldn't interfere with anything. She needed to know that they wouldn't attempt to defend Jupiter's Temple as it fell.

A week later, Annabeth and Percy arrived in California. They were greeted by Hazel and Frank, who were more than happy to see their friends, especially Percy. After dinner the praetors had business to attend to, leaving the visitors alone.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Percy questioned, fidgeting slightly and looking out across the field with concern. Annabeth had expected him to react this way. Nothing she had asked him to do before had involved his friends, and she knew just how on edge he was about it.

"We need to make sure that Camp Jupiter doesn't interfere with anything that happens. You need to implement a distraction for the praetors," she responded in a deadpan voice. Percy's eyes met hers and she could tell just how uncertain he felt. She knew she had to convince him.

"I don't want Hazel or Frank to come to any harm, but if they get in the way I might not be able to stop it. You want your friends to be safe, don't you?" A wave of sickness came over her as the words left her mouth. She sounded just like Luke.

Her mind filled with images of that week she had spent trapped on the Princess Andromeda after Artemis had taken the sky from her shoulders. Luke had asked her to spy on Camp for him, saying that with information he could keep any harm from coming to the campers. She had almost believed him.

And now she was talking to Percy the same way. Annabeth hadn't thought she was even capable of that. Relax, she told herself. You're not like Luke. What she was doing was good. She would make life better for all demigods and mortals alike. She wasn't driven by anger or resentment. She was different from him.

The thought didn't comfort her as much as it should have when she saw the alarm on Percy's face as he shook his head fervently in response to her earlier question.

"I'll make sure to talk to them about it. What did you have in mind?" he asked.

Percy POV

He went to talk to Hazel and Frank as Annabeth had asked. Percy told them about how the Hunters were looking for a pack of werewolves and believed they were in the area, suggesting that the Legion put its focus on keeping an eye out. He did his part in Annabeth's plan.

He knew the entire thing was beyond dangerous and that it was a risk Annabeth would rarely take. He knew that something was wrong with her, butt he also knew that she hadn't looked this happy in a long time, and try as he might to build up the courage to confront her about it, each time he saw that smile on her face any of his objections melted away.

Percy had faith in her. She was clever and cunning. She was an excellent strategist. Sure, her pride could be an issue and blind her in some situations, but she always overcame that. She had witnessed a failed attempt and could learn from Luke's mistakes. She had all the skills needed to overthrow the gods and institute a new system of power. If any demigod should be given the job, it was Annabeth.

Thalia said that he was "blinded by his feelings", but she was wrong. Yes, Percy loved Annabeth and would follow her to the ends of the earth, but he also knew just how likely she was to succeed. For some reason, Thalia couldn't comprehend that part.

"What will you do when she fails, huh?" Thalia had asked him.

"Annabeth never fails. But if she stumbles, I'll be right there to pick her up," was his response.

Chapter Text

The heat of the early-August sun shone down on her vigorously. Annabeth had returned to Camp to take care of any last-minute issues, but everything already seemed to be in place. Originally, she had wanted to wait a week before beginning her scheme, but now she was too anxious to wait. Annabeth was going to make it happen this afternoon.

That was, until something happened that she hadn’t accounted for. Unexpectedly, Thalia had showed up at Camp. It had been weeks since they last spoke. Weeks since the daughter of Zeus had accused her of trying to hurt Percy, a thought that had nearly made Annabeth attack her then and there. Instead, she had let the girl walk away, believing that the argument was the defining end of their relationship. A harsh and disastrous end, but a clean one.

The fact that Thalia was here, trying to reason with her as if this decision was still reversible, trying to talk to her as a close friend, made her gag. What was Thalia thinking? They clearly weren’t friends anymore. Annabeth knew they hadn’t been that way ever since she joined the Hunters years ago, so why was she pretending they were? Aside from the annoyance of the interference with her plan, Annabeth felt a strange and unplaceable sickly feeling from Thalia’s presence.

Her brother Malcom had come to tell her that the Hunters were at Camp and Thalia was waiting for her in the forest, near her tree. Why did she have to pick that spot?

“What do you want?”

“I think you know what I want,” Thalia replied, her voice surprisingly calm. It made Annabeth want to scream.

“I’m not having the same conversation with you again. So let’s just establish that I’m going to do this and you won’t like it, then we can both be on our way,” she said. She was standing far from Thalia, refusing to get close enough to be able to make out the blue of her irises.

The girl turned her face to the ground, but not in defeat. Her demeanor shifted. The storm was coming in. She was looking at the ground to prevent it from being unleashed before she was ready. If a fight was what she was looking for, Annabeth would give her just that.

“You’re doing the wrong thing. And you don’t recognize that, but it’s true. At the end of the day, you’re going to turn around and realize all the destruction you caused. I’m trying to spare you all that guilt.”

Annabeth couldn’t take any more of it.

“You won’t be around to see what happens.”

Thalia POV

Then Annabeth did the most peculiar thing- she took her bronze knife out of its sheath and slashed the blade across her own skin from her shoulder to sternum. She didn’t even flinch from the pain, simply standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. Annabeth then tossed the knife a few feet from herself and screamed “Percy!”

Thalia stared in confusion at the girl in front of her. Had Annabeth finally lost it? Had her mind snapped at this moment? There seemed to be no other explanation for her actions.

The blonde fell to her knees as she screamed Percy’s name again. Her voice was full of agony even though her face remained stone. Percy would arrive any minute now and see her on the ground in pain, and he would wonder who had done it.

Oh. He would wonder who had done it, and Thalia was the only other person around. She’d be on the receiving end of his anger, which was a place she didn’t want to be. All too late, Thalia realized she needed to run. But Percy had reached them and immediately went to kneel next to Annabeth.

“What happened?” he asked, pressing his hand against the bleeding wound in her chest, his body on high alert.

Annabeth stared at Thalia in fear. He got the message. Stiffening, Percy turned to the daughter of Zeus, getting to his feet between her and Annabeth.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, his voice unnervingly calm, like a waveless and flat ocean as a storm gathers in the sky above it.

“I didn’t. Annabeth is under a lot of pressure, and she needs hel-” Thalia was cut off by Percy’s voice, rising steadily in volume.

“No, what she needs is for her friends to not hurt her. But you did.” He was now advancing towards her, slowly but purposefully.

Normally, Thalia would hate to admit that she could ever be intimidated by this kid. But right now- well, he was terrifying. Her heart was beating loud in her ear as he kept moving towards her. The dark look in his eyes, the usually easy-goingness gone from his face, the tenseness of his entire body, and worst of all- he hadn’t even pulled Riptide out. She didn’t want to know what he planned to do to her without a weapon.

“Let’s talk about this, please,” Thalia said, almost begging. Her voice was loud in the otherwise silent forest, but it didn’t even seem to affect Percy. He slowly raised his hand out in front of him, making her blood hammer through her veins.

“Too late,” he said, squeezing his hand into a fist.

Pain erupted throughout Thalia’s body, starting in her neck. Strings of agony raced down her throat. It was as if her insides were thrashing around, burning her. She probably screamed, but the pain made it hard to recall.

As quickly as it had come, it went away. She was left with a horrible aching and the odd feeling that something was pulling on her veins. After taking a moment to breathe, she looked up at Percy from where she now lay sprawled out on the ground. His angry eyes dug so deep into her that she had to avert her gaze, glancing at Annabeth.

But her look was, if possible, even worse. A smirk rested on her face, as if she was saying “told you I’d win”. Her eyes were a steel slate, devoid of any concern or sympathy.

“Finish her,” Annabeth said sternly. Thalia saw Percy’s hand move out of the corner of her eye as a satisfied smile spread across Annabeth’s lips. The pain came again, but only for a moment. Then everything went black.