23. Chase

Annabeth Chase was 16 years old. She had just confirmed her feelings for Percy Jackson a week ago. Now, she sat on the grass, contemplating something she had seen. When she was captured, in her semi-conscious state, she had seen another person holding up the sky before Luke Castalen.

She had glimpsed a woman. She stood tall as she held up the sky, a feat that Annabeth herself had been unable to do. Annabeth remembered one peculiarity about the scene. The woman either bled or was crying glowing tears. Was that possible? Or had she been hallucinating?

" Hey, Wise Girl, what are you thinking about," Annabeth looked up and watched as Percy Jackson walked up to her and plopped himself next to her. She leaned on the boy and sighed.

" I saw someone else holding up the sky before Luke but I am not sure if I was hallucinating or not. My image of this woman is very blurry so I can't use the video shield to find her..." She looked up at Percy's face and found him snacking on something.

" *Gulp* What's so special about her?" He asked as he swallowed the bite he had taken.

" Well, she was holding up the sky and..." Annabeth trailed off as she tried to remember what she saw. Like a dream, the memory was quickly fading.

" And?" Percy finished eating the bread with blue custard filling he held.

" I think she was leaking some kind of glowing liquid..." Annabeth said noncommittally. Percy turned to Annabeth with a weird expression.

" She was... Leaking liquid?" Annabeth immediately understood her blunder and covered her face in embarrassment. She then corrected herself.

" I mean she was bleeding! O-or crying or something..." As she trailed off, Percy gained a rather thoughtful look and scratched his cheek.

" Hmm... Bleeding glowing blood you say... Then, isn't she a goddess?" His statement caused Annabeth to pause for a second before she turned to stare at Percy. A moment of awkward silence later, Annabeth facepalmed and groaned.

" I can't believe that I didn't come to that conclusion..." Percy looked amused as he rubbed Annabeth's back.

" Now... That would explain why the memory of seeing her is getting blurrier. Maybe I saw her true form or something? That might be why my brain is trying to forget her." Annabeth theorised while staring off into the distance trying to remember any other details from that scene in her mind.

" Then, isn't it healthier if you just stop thinking about her?" Percy asked looking a little concerned for his girlfriend. He may have been more worried about the situation if she showed signs of discomfort but she didn't and that was all that mattered to him.

" No, I don't think I will. She feels... Important for some reason. I think someone, maybe my mom, intentionally woke me at that time to see that goddess." Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows as she thought.

" Did the mist cover her? I feel like she was naked when I saw her. Yet, vaguely remember her wearing a simple dress." As Annabeth plunged back into her thoughts. Percy watched over her looking rather concerned. Demigods tended to trust their instincts, after all, they had saved them many times.

It wasn't the fact that Annabeth thought she saw the goddess naked that he was worried about. It was that she felt the goddess was important. Important goddesses usually equated to a quest and Percy really didn't want to go on another quest.

Percy Jackson grimaced as he remembered all the friends he had lost, and nudged Annabeth out of her thoughts.

... (A/N: All my dots come from the legendary land of Dotaria. These ones are civilians. They are searching for the Legendary dots who had mysteriously disappeared.)

Magnus Chase felt great, it was summer and he was eating his favourite food, Falafel, at Fadlan's Falafel. Though he was homeless and had no money, his friends Abdel Fadlan, owner of Fadlan's Falafel, and his son, Amir often gave him whatever leftovers they had and he was very grateful.

Though he did enjoy the Falafels, as usual, he was deep in thought. He felt like he was missing something. It was not the normal depression that plagued him whenever he remembered his mother's murder a year ago.

There was just this emptiness in his heart that was irritating him, it had started about a week ago. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable on most days... but not today. His heart yearned for something... I was something that was supposed to fit in his hand.

Like a stick or a bar of some sort.

He had already asked his friends Hearthstone and Blitzen for suggestions as to what this thing could be. They had given him good suggestions but they were all things that HE would find difficult to attain.

Hearthstone asked if he wanted a wand but Magnus quickly shut down that vampire's suggestion. What Magnus wanted was to hold something like a stick that was sturdy about a meter or a little less in length.

When Blitzen mention a sword, Magnus could help but nod. Yes, it was something like a sword. A short sword maybe?

Suddenly, an image of the Boston Harbour appeared in his mind. He stood up abruptly as he suddenly felt the urge to go to this place. It was almost as if he heard words in his mind, urging him to go to the harbour and find his sword. He knew it was there and he knew it was his to collect.

Quickly, he finished his meal and began walking. A voice in his encouraged him, it almost sounded fatherly. Well, not that he knew what a father was supposed to sound like, he had never had one.

Sooner or later, a reached the harbour and looked into its depths. He then heard that same voice urge him to reach out for the sword. And he did... literally. He stretched his hand out to the sea and called for the sword.

Slowly, he felt it approach. A spot in the water began boiling and a rusted-looking pipe flew into his hand. With a smile, Magnus stared at the rusted sword in his hand not bothered by the stares he was getting from the people in his surroundings.

The rusted thing seemed to sense the affection Magnus radiated and vibrated to show reciprocation. Then he heard the sword speak its name to him.

" Sumarbrandr..." He whispered to the sword. In what seemed like subtle magic, the sword seemed to renew itself before Magnus' eyes.

" Cool..." He said while smiling.

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