CH 14 Annabeth "Guys… I don't like the look of that,” Annabeth said warily. The demigods had gone back to Camp Half-Blood for a single, short night of rest, along with debriefing Chiron on what had happened. Chiron's brow furrowed with concern when Percy and Annabeth explained how the fight with Peírama had escalated, his eyes reflecting memories of so many quests he had seen go wrong. By dawn, the demigods climbed Half-Blood Hill, where the nervous figures of the elves were waiting by Thalia's pine tree. Annabeth had closed her eyes and prayed to her mom that this would be one of the last times they light-leaped, and they were able to end the fight with Peírama. “I agree,” said Sandor, Sophie’s goblin bodyguard. Annabeth fought the urge to whip her head around at Sandor; she could never get used to the small, squeaky voice from the large, muscular goblin. They all looked ahead and saw what Annabeth and Sandor were nervously referring to. The light leaping crystal they had just been about to use was vibrating so violently it looked ready to shatter. “Well,” Keefe muttered from the back of the group, trying and failing to sound casual, “I didn’t think our portal would look so much like an oversized blender. Who wants to go first?” Sophie glanced around. “Does anyone have a backup crystal? I don’t want to be using this.” There was a moment of silence while everyone waited for one of the elves to step forward with an alternative option. “Really? No one?” Marella grumbled. “I have one, but it’s single-use. Someone’s replacing it when we get home, because I’m not paying for a new one.” (guys ik they have infinite money but my girl marella is not taking nothing :nailemoji:.) /If/ we get home/ Annabeth mentally corrected. She didn’t want to bring the mood down, but she had seen it happen enough that it was never safe to assume. Obviously, this /Marella/ wasn’t as experienced as she seemed to think. Marella pulled a small, decorative crystal from her pocket and held it out. Luckily, this one was not shaking, so the group was easily able to step into the small beam created and dissolve into the light. As the group stepped out- stumbled out in Percy and Annabeth’s case- they looked around for a sign that Peírama might have prepared for a fight, but found none. The place looked like it had when Annabeth visited with her father and stepmom the past year; all around were the sounds of a bustling city. People- families were walking together, chatting happily amongst themselves. Younger kids wove around the adults’ feet while teens walked with shopping bags crinkling. Couples sat outside the restaurant. A guy was ordering food with his date sitting across the table; two women were sharing an ice cream and looking at each other shyly. The sun was shining down enough for half-hearted complaints, but not enough to truly be a bother. It was all so normal, nothing like an evil hideout. But then again, Annabeth had found that very rarely did villains appear as they were. “Remind me of our plan again?” Percy asked, looking around cautiously. “We find the base, we kill the evil person, we try not to die, we get mallowmelt at home,” responded Dex hopefully. “Not to be a bore, but how exactly are we going to find out where they are?” asked Linh, glancing around. “I don’t see anything obvious.” “I think this is where /I/ come in,” said Keefe, grinning. Annabeth looked at him. “Sorry, but how are you supposed to do that?” “Well, Blondie--” “Do /not/ call me that,” Annabeth said, her eyes narrowing. Percy winced, stepping slightly toward Annabeth as her gray eyes turned stormy. “- as the group’s resident empath,” Keefe continued, undeterred, “I just use my fancy emotion skills to find our scary Peírama, and boom-, villain found.” “Keefe,” Sophie began hesitantly, reaching up to tug her eyelashes. "There's dozens of people all around us; are you sure you can pick out a single emotion?” “Unless anyone has any better plans, I think I should at least try, Foster,” Keefe said. “After all, Peírama probably will have different emotions than the tourists.” STILL CH 14 BUT KEEFE POV Keefe closed his eyes and felt around for emotions. As he opened his mind to the emotions, they hit him immediately; from the families all around, he could feel excitement, contentment, and simple, lighthearted joy. (CONT)
(CONT) Keefe felt a small pang, wishing he could have been one of these teens, him and his friends here on a vacation to try all sorts of human food, and not here so they could stop an evil villain experiment who wanted revenge on the world. (guys its 10:00pm and i js want to finish this chapter but like i have no idea whats going to happen im making this up as i type ig well find out whats going to happen together :thumbs-up-emoji: :loudly-crying-emoji:) He pushed further, through the excitement and through the chatter for another mind. He knew he had felt Peírama’s emotions before when they first fought a chimera, and he clung to that memory, that ounce of recognition. Not able to find any, he opened his eyes in frustration. “Let’s move around,” he suggested, keeping his tone light. “Clearly, the sheer amount of awe and adoration these humans are radiating toward my hair is blocking out the bad guy vibe.” Fitz snorted. “Just say you can't sense anything from here, hairboy.” “Ah, but Fitzy, I was being completely truthful about their awe,” Keefe said, gesturing to a group of teen girls gaping very indiscreetly at the elves. Foster rolled her eyes. “We’re elves. We don’t look like normal humans. Of course they’re staring.” Keefe just smirked and started walking toward the large statue-- Ice-L tower or something. Keefe didn’t know a lot about villains, just that Peírama didn't seem like the ‘subtle’ type. If she had a base in this place, it was most likely in the flashiest place possible. (my search history as i type this literally be: “around the eiffel tower how far is the closest tourist street ft” “what is 400 ft comparable to” “image of average person on football field that is easy to see perspective with no scale warping” “how long does it take to walk 400 ft”) As the group reached the base of the tower, (um so ik theres like security measures you need to pass and stuff but eheehhhh i dont feel like writing that so tam got them through hiding behind shadows mkay ^^) Keefe looked up. He recognized the structure as vaguely elven (ELIVS PRESLEY DA NANANANAAA im so sorry this is the sleep deprivation talking imma shut up now); it looked almost similar to a single tower of Candleshade. He closed his eyes as they slowed to a stop, reaching out again for Peírama. The emotions of the humans near him were quieter now. Even though the crowds had descended as they neared the tower, Keefe’s mind had quieted, zeroed in on the one mind he was looking for. And there, at the corner of the tower, he found it. It was, without a doubt, Peírama’s emotions. Besides the sense of familiarity, there were also their actual emotions; they must have just realized the elves and demigods were there, because they were filled with anger and surprise, but also, just on the edge, where some empaths may have missed it, was a hint of smugness; they were prepared for an invasion. Keefe snapped his eyes open, but Peírama wasn't there. And neither were his friends. (Soooo i just realized this chapter plan was way to much for a single chapter so this is now ch 14 pt one bc i still want 15 chapters ^^) hey guys, not to be that girl, but if you liked it, pls remember to ♡ and ☆ bc a lot of people are on the ping list for this, but aren't ♡ing and ☆ing, and that rlly is a nice way to support me. tysm! !COMMENT "PING," AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN CH 14 PT 2 IS OUT! ! THE PING DOESNT STAY BETWEEN CHAPTERS, YOU NEED TO RECOMMENT IT ! Official Studio- https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51186710/ First One- https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1259271821/ Next Pt- not out yet <3 Characters by Uncle Rick and Shannon Messenger Original idea by @PJOHoOTOAfangirl "Art" off p!ntr3st i do realize its ai "art" and im so sorry, but i had already used it a lot bbefore it was pointed out, and it would be hard to rebrand this fic ToT i promise i will be checking in the future!
