Uncomfortable Truths
"I can't believe you guys lost Grover. I mean, who loses a person? Or in this case, a satyr?" Percy said, looking between Annabeth and Harry with the tone of someone clearly scolding them, which honestly made both of them find it a little annoying.
If anyone here was capable of losing a person, it would be Percy, not the two of them. But there they were, on a magical island sunk into the depths of the sea, maybe somewhere in Europe or who even knew where, trapped there because of a curse, getting scolded by Percy.
"It's fine, Percy, leave that for later. Right now, what's important is finding Grover," Harry said, stopping him while feeling a slight headache on top of the pain already running through his body, which, even after taking a healing potion, would still take time to fully recover, unlike Percy, who only needed to be submerged in seawater. Thankfully, thanks to the ointment Dred had put on him and the potions they always kept stored away for when they got beaten up during training, his wounds were healing quickly.
"Fine. How are we going to find him?" Percy asked, letting out a sigh after scolding both of them. Which, of course, felt far too satisfying, though he would never admit that out loud.
"That... I don't know," Harry said as he seemed to think, but nothing came to mind. It wasn't like he fully understood how the Floo Network actually worked. I mean, they had literally been able to travel to Avalon even though the island's fireplace was supposed to be completely destroyed. And it wasn't even connected. Which should have made absolutely no sense, yet somehow, in their lives, it did.
"What if we go back and recreate the moment?" Percy asked.
"No. That would just send us back here again. Besides, I don't think the fireplace in that place is still intact after Echidna's attack," Harry added, shaking his head slightly.
"Then let's just ask for help," Percy added.
"And who exactly do you want to ask for help?" Annabeth asked, looking at him for a moment.
"Obviously, the gods. Or more specifically, the goddess of magic. Harry's grandmother. Grandma Hecate," Percy said easily.
Which made Annabeth look at him for a moment like he was an idiot. Harry, on the other hand, looked at him more thoughtfully for a moment, not rejecting the idea completely.
"Percy, that's not how things work. The gods don't just help you," Annabeth said quickly, shaking her head.
"That might be true for you guys. But we always get stuff from her. Maybe if we ask for help, she'll lend us a hand," Percy said.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. It was true that she had seen two huge boxes of cookies come out of the fire where they gave tributes to the gods, most likely sent by the goddess of magic herself. But even so, that was different. More than anyone, Annabeth knew the whims of the gods, and they would not help or contribute much to their children.
Not even her own mother would.
"Harry," Annabeth said, wanting Harry to stop his brother from saying nonsense, but when she looked at Harry, who actually seemed to be considering it before nodding...
"You're right. We can try. We lose nothing," Harry said calmly.
"Have you two gone insane?" Annabeth asked at once, staring at both of them while they stopped to look back at her. "Maybe it's true that you have a better relationship with Hecate, the goddess of magic, but that doesn't mean she would risk helping you and possibly anger Zeus. Besides, she might even get annoyed instead of helping and end up making our mission even worse," she said quickly and seriously while looking at both of them.
Harry and Percy fell silent for a moment before looking at each other as if they were communicating through a glance, and then they looked back at her. Though Harry's expression seemed to turn slightly annoyed for a moment.
Maybe Annabeth's words had irritated him a little.
"You're saying that because of your mother," Harry said in a tone that sounded calm... but only on the surface.
"What?" she said, her eyes widening as she looked at him with anger for a moment.
"You said no one could pass through the gods' temple unless they wanted them to. But the monsters got through easily. That means the goddess who owns that temple let them in, right? And that goddess is your mother," Harry added, looking at her more seriously now. "I'm sure you realized that too," he added.
And the moment the words left his mouth, part of him knew he had gone too far... but the image of Percy poisoned and his elders protecting them while monsters appeared from all directions was still way too fresh in his mind for him to regret it immediately.
Annabeth stared at him while her jaw trembled slightly with anger, but it seemed like the words couldn't come out of her mouth as she clenched her fist tightly.
Meanwhile, Percy had gone quiet and looked at Harry for a moment, knowing that maybe he was actually pretty furious on the inside, and had most likely heard Dred's words about Athena being the one who sealed him.
And Harry, who was truly dead set on freeing him from that seal, after learning that, not getting angry at all was already a good thing. But it seemed like he couldn't hold it in for very long.
"Harry," Percy murmured lightly, trying to stop his brother. It was true that Percy also felt a slight irritation about it, but at the same time, it wasn't entirely Annabeth's fault either. "Maybe it's my fault for sending Medusa's head," he added, trying to calm both of them down a little.
"Is that so? Then is that why she'll kill you? And her daughter too?" Harry said. He was young, not even twelve yet, but that didn't mean he was ignorant enough not to have that in mind.
Zeus hunting his brother down was already more than enough to anger him. And helping Hades might also be help Percy would need. Added to the fact that they could free Dred... of course he was going to cling to this. Because it would mean having the support of one of the Big Three, while at the same time one of them wanted Percy dead, and the third, who was his own father, seemed to be doing nothing.
That was why he was choosing to trust Hades, even when he had nothing real to base that trust on.
Just a few dreams... and that was it.
"Do whatever you want," Annabeth said, turning around angrily and walking away from them while her blonde hair swayed with her quick steps. Accepting the fact that her mother might really have sacrificed her just to punish them... was something that truly hurt. Because part of her had already thought it before... and that was exactly what she hated most. It was one thing for that doubt to eat away at her in silence... but hearing it said to her face made it real.
And that was worse.
Harry watched her leave and couldn't help letting out a sigh when he realized he really had gone a little too far.
"Let's see if we can get help from my grandmother," Harry said, looking down at the ground before turning around.
Meanwhile, Percy could only let out a sigh, because normally he was the one who ended up in an argument with Annabeth and not Harry, so he really didn't know what to say right now.
"Well... at least I saved something we can use as an offering," Percy said as he pulled out a small needle. The moment Harry saw it, he seemed to recognize it instantly before giving his brother a fixed stare.
It was the same poisonous needle that had poisoned Percy.
"What? It's useful now, right?" he said with a small smile. "Besides, Aunt Mor taught us to recover all the drops from monsters. And this is the only thing left from the Chimera," Percy added.
"Come on. Let's make a flame," Harry said simply, though he couldn't help glancing back toward where Annabeth had walked off.
...
Annabeth walked quickly toward the island's beach while seeming to hold back the urge to cry. Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back through sheer force of will alone. Before reaching the shore, she dropped down onto the sand and buried her face between her arms and legs.
But the moment she did, she saw a pair of black shoes right in front of her, shifting slightly.
She immediately lifted her head, remembering the only other person on the island, and her face instantly went pale.
Then she raised her gaze and met Dred's, who was looking at her lightly with one eyebrow raised.
"You know, you're less brave than those two boys. When they came here the first time, they were only five years old... and they asked me to become their subject. Though in the end, it was for a play or something like that. After that, they never left me alone again," Dred added, looking at the frightened expression on the girl's face. "I already told you; I won't attack the children of my enemies just because of hatred from the past," he added before turning around and looking back toward the waves.
Which were, technically, partly fake. There was seawater there, yes, but it only touched the beach. After that, everything else was simply an illusion, and it wasn't possible to go beyond that point.
Annabeth looked at him for a moment before controlling her expression so she wouldn't look like a coward just from standing in front of that man's presence.
She still wanted to leave, but he spoke before she could stand up.
"Normally, Harry is the calmer one out of the two. Though both of them are walking chaos, especially when they're together. But they become very defensive when one of their own is in danger. Percy is the kind of boy who could watch the world burn if it meant saving the people he loves... while Harry would give his life without hesitation for them. A lot of people would call that a fatal flaw. I don't," Dred said calmly, without turning around.
"Why are you telling me that?" Annabeth asked, making Dred glance at her slightly over his shoulder.
"Because now you're their companion. They may get annoyed and fight, but they already consider you one of their own. Sometimes they do foolish things... but that doesn't mean they're wrong. They just have a different point of view. And maybe they might be far more right than you think," Dred added calmly.
Annabeth looked at him for a moment, knowing what he was referring to.
"I'll give you one more piece of advice, though you can take it however you want. Maybe it'll help you a little. Sometimes, when a parent does something that makes you feel like you deserve it just because you're walking a path they don't like... it doesn't mean you actually do. Because they are not you... and you are not them. If you did nothing wrong... then maybe you don't need to suffer trying to understand them. Maybe you have every right to be angry." Dred told her before walking away from her again. Because sometimes parents can be wrong too... even when the entire world insists on calling them heroes... or gods.
Leaving Annabeth thinking for a moment, her brow furrowed...
But then she seemed to accept his words before standing up and turning back in the direction she had come from.