A little continuation of this dof/bp thing
Annabeth was of the opinion that they were in another dimension, no matter how much the Stupid Brothers kept pestering her that they were ājust in the past.ā They always hid behind Luke when she got annoyed enough to try teaching them a lesson.
She adjusted her helmet with a scowl. āPast? What past? I donāt think there is a past where Mr. D would be this insane about trying to break down the barriersāā
āAre you done complaining?ā Clarisse drawled from beside her, bored.
She rested her freaky Pikachu spear against her shoulder, as Luke called it when he thought no one was listening (but Annabeth had good ears, and Luke always had very interesting things to say when he muttered. Some of it was in Portuguese, though, and he still refused to teach her). Even lounging like that, Clarisse was still taller than her. Annabeth glared, then huffed pointedly.
āIām not complaining,ā Annabeth said slowly, unsheathing her dagger and giving it a casual twirl as she tipped her nose up to look down on Clarisse, or as close as she could, given Clarisse was at least ten centimeters taller. She ignored the fact that Clarisse was older. Curse the Manslaying genes. āIām simply stating a fact. Something that might be strange coming from someone with such a limited intellectual capacity as you.ā
Annabeth watched with gleeful interest as Clarisseās face cycled through confusion, realization, and then pure outrage, the red spreading until she looked indistinguishable from a tomato.
āYouāre really testing it today, Miss Princess.ā The Pikachu spear crackled, blue sparks zapping the air as Clarisse slammed it into the grass, scorching a blackened patch. āThink youāre tough shit just because you went on some stupid quest and came back victorious? With that prissy boy, no less?ā
Annabethās smirk vanished. She returned the glare.
āYouāre still mad about that?ā
āShut up!ā Clarisse threw her spear to the ground. āIām not mad!ā
āThen whatāare we trading compliments over a teapot?ā
āLike youād be good at that! The best you can do is call someone less dumb!ā
Annabethās pulse spiked. āShut up! I would be good at it!ā
Annabeth yanked Clarisseās hair before she could finish, and then they were rolling on the ground, scratching, kicking, biting, armor scraping through dirt and grass as they wrestled with zero coordination. Just like when they were little. Just like when their older brothers were still here.
āClarisse La Rue! Annabeth Chase!ā
Both frozeāthen scrambled upright.
They disentangled with sharp yelps, then turned away at the same time, arms crossed in perfect, irritated unison.
Luke stood in front of them, armor strapped over his orange camp shirt, sweatpants and flip-flops still inexplicably intact. Annabeth still couldnāt understand how he ran and fought so well in those. Must be a Brazilian thing, she thought, eyeing them suspiciously.
A sharp snap of fingers dragged her attention up to Lukeās frown.
Annabeth swallowed the urge to fidget.
āWe are under attack,ā Luke said flatly, hands on his hips like a deeply disappointed mother hen, āand youāre here fighting each other?ā
āClarisse was being stupidāā
āHey. Hey.ā Luke clapped his hands once. āI donāt care who started what. What matters is that weāve got a rogue duplicate version of Mr. D trying to break in.ā
Vines were slamming against the barrier. Campers fought back valiantly: arrows from Cabin Six, the combined effort of Hephaestus kidsāand Annabethās own cabināhurling bottles of fire that burned the vines to ash. Cabin Five hurled insults along with spears and whatever else they could get their hands on. Cabin Four tried wrestling the vines with summoned plants of their own, while the Aphrodite kids were split; some darted through the chaos to help where they could, others shouted over the noise, trying (and failing) to charm the other Dionysus.
āNow, Gavin, drop your little bottles of destruction thereāand you, Donny, make more,ā Mr. D ordered from a reclined chair, pointing lazily as he directed the Stupid Brothers. Every so often, he summoned vines himself, grimacing whenever the other Dionysusā vines touched his, like the contact itself was unpleasant.
Pollux and Castor were absent, though, a fact that was impossible to ignore. Annabeth supposed Mr. D wouldnāt risk letting the boys out of their cabin after the other Dionysus had practically salivated at the sight of them.
Luke lowered his hand to rest on his sword.
āSo,ā he said calmly, āare you going to work together?ā
Clarisse and Annabeth eyed each other. Then, reluctantly, they turned back to Luke and nodded.
He smiled. āGood. Clarisse, go corral your siblings into something halfway coherent. Theyāre like directionless little boars right now. Annabeth, with me. After an attack, the barrier gets even weaker. There are a few spots that are more fragile than othersāā
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