Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As Percy entered the ballroom with Annabeth at his arms, he couldn’t helps to feel the slight exhilaration of taking on a mission. But this mission was different than all the others, because this time, they were supposed kidnap the people they were trying to protect, not get rid of the bad guys.

He heard Annabeth take a deep breath at his side and turned toward her. “You ready, Seaweed Brain?”

He nodded. “Never been more ready in my life.”

“Then let’s get this party started.”

——-

Percy and Annabeth had been dancing for about fifteen minutes when the couple they were supposed to kidnap finally arrived. “Annabeth, they’re on the stairs.”

He dipped her so she see them before turning around so she had full view of they’re targets. Why this party looked as if it came straight out of a fairytale, he had no idea, and the suit was very hard to move in. But if it’s what it took to get these people out of harm, then Percy had no choice.

Jason Grace and Piper Mclean. Jason Grace, heir to the company called Brick Buildings, a company dedicated to creating, of course, brick buildings. They also did stone, but it was mainly brick. Apparently brick buildings are rising in popularity because the company was big and owning it meant money. Piper Mclean, daughter of the movie star, Tristan Mclean. Owned a makeup store called Aphrodite’s Naturals, and a brand of makeup in the same name. But she was most famous for her infinite support of feminism and anti-racism. Also the main reason that Annabeth liked her.

And there was at least 25 kidnapping attempts going to happen tonight. And all of them was to kidnap them. So both he and Annabeth had to get to them first. And then get them out of here. But first, they dance.

——

Piper knew her relationship with Jason was strained at best. Really strained. But she wanted it to work out desperately. Not for the public, though she knew the public was obsessed with their relationship for many reasons, but because she loved Jason with all her heart.

She didn’t know when it became harder for her to laugh or when it became harder for him to look her in the eye. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t trust him when he’s being honest and why he can’t smile every time she looks at him. She doesn’t know how that strain appeared, but she wants it gone. It hurts to know she doesn’t trust him, and he doesn’t trust her.

So when Jason said that in order to honor tradition, he was holding a ball for a new investment, they had decided today was the day they would relax. Work things out. Figure out what’s wrong. Where the pressure is coming from.

And as she walked down the stairs, she watched the couples dancing, each one looking so much in love. A certain couple, a dark haired man and a blonde woman in a red dress, caught her eye. He dipped her low, and her eyes only left his for a second before she returned his gaze with a fond expression and laughed at something he said. They looked so in love… Piper’s heart panged.

She’s always had this talent of knowing how people felt, the more personal the relationship, the easier. And she knew what most people thought of her the instant she met them. And the same was for Jason. Until now. It used to be so easy to read people, and Jason was so easy to read. So know, this… change- no development was, well, different. And to have it someone she trusted was… unnerving.

But enough of the depressive thoughts. Tonight was the night she would finally let loose. She would figure out what was wrong and fix it. Because she could do this.

Piper took a deep breath, looked at Jason, and smiled weakly. “It seems like the party has started without us.”

Looking equally stiff, Jason replied, “Yes, it did.” He looked like he was trying to hard to relax. Way too hard.

She exhaled through her nose. Tonight was going to be a long night. But little did she know exactly how long it was going to be.

——

Percy watched them walk down the stairs and head toward the food. Good idea, he thought, even if you don’t eat I can. He told Annabeth just as much.

She rolled her eyes. “You know, you’re not going to get fries or anything. Everything here is a bit more… classy.”

He shrugged. “Food is food.”

“Well then, let’s go.”

They got out of the waltz and headed over. The couple, codenamed Jasper, looked tense. Unnerved. There was no way they knew about any of the kidnapping plots so… something personal? Annabeth seemed to notice too. “Maybe they…. fought?”

Percy looked back at the supposedly in love couple. It was kind of hard to believe that only two years ago they were voted as celebrity couple most likely to stay together forever. Well, whatever it was, they were going to have to deal with it on a helicopter. 200 feet up. Not the best way to solve problems, but it has worked before. Besides, what happened in Blackjack, stays in Blackjack(yes he named the helicopter, you can’t judge).

But back to the problem at hand, kidnapping the couple. Ok, that wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part is to gain their trust. Whether that was before or after the kidnapping part was up to the couple’s cooperation. “So Annabeth, which one us is more trustworthy?”

“You of course, or at least everyone trusts you before they trust me.” Annabeth shrugged, as if shrugging off something that was bothering her.

Percy frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? You're trustworthy.”

“Percy, it’s just that- never mind. You wouldn’t understand.” She shoulders hunched and she would look at him. Something was definitely bothering her.

He looked at the couple, now heading in the opposite direction. To him, Annabeth was always more important, but he also owed Thalia. He and Annabeth would have to talk later. He gently turned Annabeth’s chin so she would look at him. “I trust you, got it?”

Annabeth shook her head out of his grasp and nodded in his shoulder. “I know.”

He playfully tugged on a lock of her. “We have a couple to kidnap, we better get going before we lose them.”

“Yeah, we should.”

——

When Piper saw the couple she had noted before walking their general direction, Piper was sure that striking a conversation with them would break some of the ice. Actually, starting a conversation with anyone would break the ice, but they seemed the most friendliest out of all if the choices.

She poked Jason’s shoulder and nudged her head toward the couple. “Why don’t we start a conversation? We should at least try to be hospitable.”

He nodded, seemingly relaxing a bit. Piper could only pretend it didn’t hurt. She could only pretend everything didn’t hurt. She could only wish she knew the reasons. She only wonder why her. Why not anyone else in the world?

They walked toward the couple, and the couple noting that, headed toward them with a smile. It was probably genuine. While hers was slightly forced. “Hey, I’m Piper McLean and this is-”

“Jason Grace, nice to meet you.” He stuck a hand out for one of them to shake. The dark haired man shook it as the blonde answered. “We know, I’m Annabelle Carter, and he’s Percy Jackson.”

Jason smiled kindly. “Well I hope we’re being hosts. I would hate it if someone weren’t enjoying themselves.”

Like us, Piper thought. Percy chuckled as if he found something funny. “We’re enjoying ourselves just fine, thank you. So, my father is Poseidon Olympian, and I was actually planning on starting a conversation with you sometime during this ball. I didn’t expect it this conversation to happen so soon however.”

“And your name is Percy Jackson?” Piper asked, confused.

Percy just smiled. “I get asked that a lot. My mom was his first wife. I kept her last name. Theseus and and Triton are my half-brothers.”

Jason nodded. “I see, I’ve heard of you before. So, heir to your father’s throne?”

He nodded. “It would seem so.”

“So let’s talk about this business deal.”

Piper nearly snarled. It couldn’t have been clearer that he was telling her to leave. Instead of smacking him upside the head like she wanted to, she smiled kindly and Annabelle. “So what do you say to getting some drinks?”

——-

Percy saw the thinly veiled dismissal for what it was and sort of pitied Piper. It was clear she didn’t want to leave. Also, it sort of messed up their plans. They weren’t supposed to separate, but if Annabeth said no, well…. it would be complicated. Hopefully Silena knew what was happening and made appropriate adjustments to the plan.

But for know, the business deal. “As I was saying. My father felt the need for a business deal between our companies. After all, you make houses for the rich, while we do landscaping.”

Jason nodded. “I can see where you're going.”

“Assuming I’m correct, you have a basic landscaping plan that comes with each house, and unlike anything in the house, it can’t be upgraded. It actually happens to be great for our business, because people come to us to fix it, because let’s be honest, it looks horrid.”

“Yes, but if business for you is going good with what we are doing, then why strike a business deal?”

“Other companies have realized the mistake you’re making, and have been selling similar houses, but they offer better plans when it comes to landscaping. So we’ve been losing business. And so have you. So I have a solution to propose. You continue making whatever houses you make. But, offer a discount for those houses under one condition. They upgrade their landscape. Under our company. The upgrade of course must cost something, but it will be plenty cheaper than remodeling it afterwards. This way-”

“-we both get more customers than we’ve been getting recently. It’s a bit of a complicated plan, but I suppose it would work. I’ll have to think through this a bit more.”

Percy smiled, reaching for his business card to hand over. “Here. I hope another ball will be held, Jason Grace.”

Jason grinned. “Well we’ll have to see about that, don’t we Percy Jackson?”

“I suppose we-”

A loud explosion cut through the room. Percy’s instincts shifted to autopilot as he shoved Jason toward the nearest exit. “We need to get out of here.”

Jason stared at him bewildered. “But Piper-”

Percy ignored him. Annabeth and Piper had went left which was…. right where the explosion happened. “Shit. Shit! Get to the nearest exit! Go!”

Percy shoved him in Silena’s direction and headed off to where he saw Annabeth last. She couldn’t possibly be- a gunshot. That was a gunshot. Percy started moving faster. She couldn’t be hurt, she couldn’t be hurt-

Percy grabbed his hoverboard out from under him jacket and searched the hall. She had to be fine, she had to be fine- Piper. Piper was was standing so she was ok…. “Where’s Annabeth?”

Piper shook her head, stunned. She was still recovering from shock. “I don’t know… there was an explosion and… I don’t know.”
Percy was about to respond when something hit him in the head. He reached up to find a rope. Right. The ceiling had blown off. He handed the rope to Piper. “Just hold on. You’ll be fine.”

Piper nodded. She was probably too shocked to even think. “Where’s Jason?”

“He’s fine. He was worried about you but fine.”

She nodded and clutched onto the rope which started hauling her up. He had to applaud Beckendorf for his grand idea of taking advantage of the hole in the ceiling. But right now, Annabeth. He scanned around for a bright red dress… and started running.
No no no no no, nobody was supposed to get hurt. Yet here Annabeth was laying on the floor unconscious. “Annabeth…”

He checked her body for wounds. It seemed to be a head injury… and a gunshot wound. In the leg. Percy tore some of the fabric from her dress to bind the wound. That should help with blood loss until they get to the helicopter. Her was barely there, but it shouldn’t be fatal.

He activated his hoverboard and hoisted Annabeth in his arms. His hoverboard could only hover about twenty feet above the ground before it solely depended on fans to propel it. It was dangerous to carry Annabeth injured on a hoverboard, but it was the only choice until they could get another rope dropped down to them.

Nobody noticed as they took of into the air in the midst of the confusion. Nico and Reyna should be taking care of things down below. He was going to murder the amateurs that thought blowing up a building was the best way to kidnap someone.

He looked at Annabeth, if it weren’t for the swollen knot on her head and the bleeding would, it would have almost looked as if she were sleeping. He pressed his forehead to hers. It wasn’t his first time seeing her hurt, but he hated it anyways.

All he had to do was keep her safe. Keep her from falling. All he had to do was make it to the helicopter. Percy sighed. Twenty-five feet up. His hoverboard was already depending on the fan. He could feel the wobble. Hang on, he thought, we’ll make it.

Chapter Text

Piper panicked as she held onto the rope. She was as nervous… as anything could ever be, really. She took a deep breath. As long as didn’t let go, as long as the wind didn’t blow too hard, as long as- Stop it, Piper. You’re worrying over nothing. You have other stuff to worry about. Like who Percy and Annabelle- no Annabeth, that’s what he called her when he was in a panic, were.

They seemed nice enough at first, but they seemed to know more about the situation than she did. But they didn’t seem cruel. Her person vibe didn’t tell her not to trust them, so she did. That was decided.

As for Jason, Percy did say he was okay. But she was still worried. She did trust Percy, more than she trusted Jason these days sometimes, but she couldn’t help to be worried. He was still her boyfriend after all. And she did care about him, no matter what problems they were having.

And as for the explosion. She was scared senseless. Piper would like to say she kept her head in most situations but that had been so sudden she lost it. Somehow she and Annabeth had been separated(her mind had finally gotten used to calling her Annabeth, it wasn’t that hard), and Piper scurried in a rush, looking for her, somehow feeling responsible. Instead of Annabeth, she found Percy, whose blatant worry jumbled up her nerves. She didn’t think he meant to, but that and him calling her Annabeth just confused her.

But the explosion itself, why this party? What was the purpose? What or who was it after? Who planned this? Piper heard the gunshot, this wasn’t something that was accidental. Hopefully nobody got hurt. But still, what were they after? Piper had so many questions.

“Thank god, Piper. You’re ok.” Piper looked up to find Jason grinning at her in relief.

Jason stretched out his hand to reach her. One hand on the rope, she reached out with the other towards him. Grabbing onto his arm, he pulled her up into the helicopter. He sighed in relief and exhaustion. “I was so worried.”

She had just gotten comfortable into the position on the ground she had been dragged into when Jason pulled her up into his arms and hugged her tight. For the time that night, she relaxed. She and Jason were alive and okay and that was all that mattered at the moment.

“Ahem.”

They both turned to find a blond haired guy, about their age, wearing a stethoscope casually around his neck, but otherwise dressed casually. “Um, hi. I already asked Jason, but are you hurt Ma’am?”

Piper looked at him. He seemed trustworthy. “No, I’m good, thankfully. And, please, it’s Piper.”

He nodded. “Got it. I’m the medic on this copter, if that wasn’t obvious with the stethoscope. Are Percy and Annabeth okay?”

Jason winced. “Well, Percy went after… Annabeth, but when I saw him he looked okay.”

Piper nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Percy was okay, just worried about Annabeth the last time I saw him. Annabeth however… I lost her during the explosion.”

There was a voice from the cockpit that cussed. “That’s great! We lost them! What are we going to do now?”

A female voice answered. “Charlie, it’s fine. Percy is quite resourceful.”

That voice soon had a face when she enter the space where they were. “Hi, I’m Silena. The grump in the cockpit is Beckendorf. This is Will. And you’ve met Percy and Annabeth. We’ll explain everything once they arrive, but for now, take a seat.” She gestured to the seats behind them.

Piper person vine said that she was trustworthy too, so she nodded, though Jason gripped her hand. As for Beckendorf, she wasn’t sure because she hadn’t send him, but he sounded alright, though cussed like a sailor. They took a seat, and waited, everyone in the small space looking a bit awkward.

Silena kept glancing down at the way she had come in. After about a minute she smiled. “I see Percy! He’s on his hoverboard! On! And that’s Annabeth in his arms! And-“ Silena’s whole demeanor changed as she started throwing the rope down. “I think Annabeth is unconscious and I see blood, though it’s too dark to be such. Will, get your supplies ready just in case.”

Piper’s gut clenched. Annabeth was hurt. For as long as she knew her, Annabeth had been nice and it sort of hurt that she was okay and Annabeth wasn’t. Will opened a compartment, and set up what looked like a mini doctor’s office. There was even a bed thing to match. In the exact green shade.

When Percy finally appeared, he looked livid. “Solace, she’s got a head injury and gunshot wound on her leg.” Annabeth was limp in his arms and he carefully rushed to lie her down on the bed. “I’m going to kill those bastards!”

Silena patted his shoulders. “You’ve been through worse, you know. She’ll be alright.”

Percy closed his eyes. “I know. It still doesn’t stop me from worrying.” He suddenly opened his eyes to glare at Will. “Solace, your boyfriend better take care of those idiots or he’s dead.”

Will just chuckled, even though Percy looked pretty serious. “Trust me. He’s pissed too. Reyna has her dogs out. They’ll take care of them. That’s their job after all.”

“Right, I know. But seriously, an explosion? Nobody does that. Now full focus on her injuries or I’ll have your head.”

Silena rolled her eyes. “Great. Annabeth will be fine. She’s in good hand. Also, we need to explain what’s going on.” She gestured towards them, Piper feeling really awkward. “She contacted you, Percy, so you should probably explain what’s going on.”

Percy turned toward them and took a seat. “Alright, where should I start? Okay, so Jason, let’s start with you. Do you trust us?”

Her boyfriend snorted. “Well you did save our lives, but we still have no idea who you guys are and what you want. So, I’d say answering that would be impossible.”

Percy laughed. “Smart. And you, Piper?”

Piper shrugged. “Well, you guys seem trustworthy, but Jason is right. I trust you like 25%. You’re lucky.”

“Nice. Ok, well would you believe me, Jason, if I told you you’re sister Thalia is alive. And not only that, but she’s a close friend of mine, and she sent us to retrieve you?”

“What?” Jason looked flabbergasted. Piper herself was pretty confused. Thalia, alive? But she’s been dead for years.

Jason seemed to calm down. “Ok, clearly you’re either lying or something is up. Prove it. How does she look? How old is she? What is she like?”

Percy smiled. “Well, you two look nothing alike. I was surprised when she told me you two were related. Dark hair, olive skin, she’s tall and athletic looking. She’s got the same eyes you do, though. She’s three years older than us. She’s pretty bossy and sassy, and stubborn. We’ve gotten into our fair share of fights. Really caring though, in an I-really-care-about-you-but-will-only-show-it-in-life-threatening-situations way. Anything else?”

Jason sighed. “You got all that right. But still, how do I knew she sent you here? How do I know she’s still alive?”

Piper clenched her seat and Jason's hand tightly. She wanted to know. She never knew Thalia, but form the way Jason talked about her, she seemed like the type of person Piper would be friends with.

Percy pulled out his phone and started clicking things. Finally she heard the phone ringing. He was calling someone. Was he calling-

“I saw the news! What happened?! You said everything would go smoothly! Smoothly Percy! Do you understand the meaning of smoothly?! An explosion?! I will murder your face if a single scratch hurt my little brother! You better tell me he’s alright! Percy Jackson, can you even hear me!”

“Sheesh, Thals, calm down. Jason’s fine. So his is girlfriend. The only person that was hurt was Annabeth! Got it! Stop screaming! We didn’t even cause the explosion! And I sure as hell know what the word smoothly means! I wish this had gotten smoothly but life exists Thalia! If you wanted this to go smoothly you should have taken care of this yourself!”

“Oh. Sorry. I’m just stressed. Sorry. Is she okay?”

Percy sighed. “Yeah. She hit her head and got shot in the leg, but Will can handle it.”

“Good.”

“Either way the reason I called was because your brother wanted prove you’re alive.”

“Oh. Um, hey it’s me Thalia, I’m alive and well. The reason I faked my death when I was ten was because I was pissed at our mother and shit? How do you did shit?”

“Ummm, I’ve never faked my death. I wouldn’t know.”

Jason cleared his throat. “I recognized her voice. But one more thing. If you can answer this question, I’ll believe it’s you. What’s the last thing you promised me, that you never kept because I left and then you faked your death?”

Thalia answered with a chuckle, but you could tell that their were tears. “I promised you that I would take you to the park. That we’d sneak out so that mom wouldn’t noticed we were gone. I had made the plan and told you too. But the next day mom took us to the park herself. And then you left.”

“It’s you.” Jason’s voice was barely a breath.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Chapter Text

Annabeth could feel pain. Only pain. And that was only her leg. She could feel anything else. She felt slightly wet. She would assume she took an unexpected swim, except she felt feverish and warm not cold and clear. So, sweat. She could feel turbulence, which probably meant she was on the team helicopter, but why? Annabeth would love to think of the reason, but the pain made it hard to think.

Why was she here? She remembered… Percy. Right, they had been assigned a mission. Had they done it? Probably, given her condition they had attempted it. But they could have failed. If they failed then Percy…

Annabeth shot straight up, gasping heavily. Her eyes flew open so suddenly that the bright light made her dizzy. She wobbled, her leg screaming in pain.

“Annabeth!”

Annabeth tried to shake out of her daze. She recognized that voice…. “Percy?”

She tried looking up, but only managed to raise her head slightly. Still, that was enough to see his face as he rushed toward. She blinked, trying to see him more clearly. But everything was blurry. She heard Percy’s voice, and then two others she recognized, both male and female, but she couldn’t tell who it was from. “Wha-”

Suddenly she was able to look up, she was staring at the ceiling when she realized her leg was burning with pain. She knew that she was supposed to be doing something, that she had some sort of instinct for this type up situation, but couldn’t think of it.

Suddenly Percy’s face was right next to hers, and someone’s arms were looked around her. Percy’s arms, she realized as she stared at him in confusion. Why… was the last thought she had before she blacked out.

——

Percy wanted to scream as Annabeth blacked out again. Instead he relieved her injured leg of pressure by carrying her bridal style. Her head lolled back. Percy sighed. “I’m assuming she wasn’t supposed to put pressure on this leg.”

Will nodded. “Especially without fully realizing she was injured. I think the concussion is the main problem here. Lay her down, I’ll see what I can do.”

Percy nodded and carefully set her down. “Sure.”

He turned back toward the lovely couple. “I’m hoping you believe us now?”

Jason nodded mutely. Percy didn’t think the guy could speak coherently. He didn’t think he’d be speaking coherently for a while. It was something to know that someone you thought was dead is still alive. Percy had to go through it with his mom, he should know.

Percy sighed. “I think you should rest, think this through. Just make sense of what we told you now before I unload too much info on you.”

Piper nodded. “I think that’d be best. Jason?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah.”

They both sat down, Piper looking concerned, Jason nearly hyperventilating. Percy would go to help the poor guy out, but he had a feeling it wasn’t as bad as it looked and that Jason would prefer silence above anything.

Percy went over to Will. “Anything I can help with?”

Will shook his head. “She’ll be fine. The concussion will be gone soon, and the wound will close up in few days, but she’ll be limping for a bit more than a week after though. But she’ll heal up fine.”

He frowned. “Does she need to be excused for most of the mission?”

Will sighed. “She would need to stay out of the action. She can do surveillance, but her limp might make it harder and she’d need to disguise herself differently every time. But even then, a limp is a limp.”

Percy nodded. “So more inner work, less out on the field until she’s healed.”

He nodded. “Correct. But she should probably be mostly healed my our next stop. By that, I mean she won’t be bleeding, and the wound should be invisible except for the scar.”

“Okay, I just hope she doesn’t go into a hissy fit once she hears that she can’t work.”

Will chuckled. “You’re right. I’d hate for that to happen. We all know Annabeth when she gets angry.”

Before Percy could respond, Jason spoke up. “Can I see her?”

Percy didn’t ask who. It was obvious who he was talking about. He turned around to answer. “Well, we have to stop somewhere first-“

“Cancel that plan.” Silena walked out of the cockpit. “The tech guy we hired just canceled the contract. We need another one. Fast.”

Percy frowned. “Can Beckendorf-“

She shook her head. “No, it’s one thing to build stuff, hacking? That’s something completely different.”

“Does anyone know a hacker/engineer?”

“I know a guy.”

Everyone turned toward Piper. Suddenly Percy smiled. “Can you vouch for his talents?”

Piper grinned. “He’s the best of the best.”

Percy smile grew wider. “Can you lead the way?”

She nodded. “I’ll be able to.”

Percy turned toward Silena. “Guess who has a new tech guy?”