As they approached the coastline, the air grew cooler, with the sound of waves crashing in the distance. It was peaceful, for a moment, before a sudden shimmer appeared in the air before them. A rainbow arced through the sky, and Percy’s heart sank. He knew what it was—an Iris message. His thoughts scrambled, trying to figure out who could be contacting them.

The others noticed it too. Will’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to Percy. "Who do you think it is?"

Percy didn’t answer right away. His hand instinctively moved toward the ballpoint pen that turned into Riptide, a habit born from years of paranoia. The rainbow shimmer solidified, and to his surprise—and unease—Annabeth’s face appeared in the mist.

"Percy," her voice came through, sharp but with a trace of worry. "Finally, I got through to you."

There was a tense silence among the group. No one moved. No one spoke. Thalia’s jaw tightened, and Nico exchanged a wary glance with Percy. Jason crossed his arms, standing off to the side with an unreadable expression. No one was eager to hear from Annabeth, not after what had happened.

"Annabeth," Percy greeted, his voice cool, devoid of the warmth it once carried for her. "What do you want?"

Annabeth’s face softened with relief, but the way she looked at him betrayed her guilt. "I’ve been trying to reach you for days. No one knows where you are—not even Chiron. Everyone is worried."

Thalia scoffed under her breath, crossing her arms. "Yeah, sure. ‘Worried,’" she muttered sarcastically.

Annabeth’s eyes flickered toward Thalia for a moment before refocusing on Percy. "Look, Percy, I know things are… complicated, but you’ve disappeared. We need to know what’s going on."

"We’re fine," Percy said curtly. He was careful not to reveal too much. They couldn’t trust anyone, not even her. "We’re handling it."

"You’re handling it?" Annabeth’s brows furrowed in frustration. "Percy, monsters have been attacking camp non-stop. The borders are barely holding, and no one knows why. The gods aren’t telling us anything, and… there are rumors. Bad ones."

"Rumors?" Will echoed, stepping up next to Percy. "Like what?"

Annabeth hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. "Like maybe the gods aren’t happy with you. Maybe… something you did upset them."

Nico rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, of course. Everything’s our fault, as usual."

Annabeth flinched at Nico’s tone but pressed on. "Percy, if you’re in trouble, you need to tell me. We can help."

"No one at camp believed me when I said I didn’t betray them," Percy said, his voice low and bitter. "Why would we trust you now?"

Annabeth’s face fell, guilt flashing in her eyes. "Percy, I didn’t want to believe it. I—"

"But you did," Thalia cut in, her voice sharp. "You were the first one to turn your back on him. Don’t act like you’re here to save the day now."

Annabeth’s face flushed, clearly struggling to respond. "I made a mistake. I know that now. But Percy, please—"

"You don’t know anything," Jason interjected. His eyes flashed with anger. "You don’t know where we are, and we’re not telling you. Stop pretending like you care after everything that’s happened."

Annabeth swallowed hard, clearly overwhelmed by the barrage of accusations. "I’m trying to fix things. If you come back to camp, we can figure this out together."

Percy clenched his fists, anger and disappointment churning inside him. "There’s nothing to figure out, Annabeth. We’re not coming back. We’re on our own now."

Annabeth’s expression crumbled, desperation creeping into her voice. "Percy, please, don’t shut me out. I can help—"

"Help?" Nico snapped. "Like you helped back then? You sided with the camp, with the people who wanted to tear him down."

Annabeth didn’t respond right away. Her silence spoke volumes. Finally, she said, "I was scared. We all were. But that doesn’t change the fact that things are getting worse, Percy. If the gods aren’t saying anything, that means something big is coming. You need to come back."

Percy glanced at the others. They all wore the same expression of distrust and resentment. He shook his head, his decision final. "We’re not coming back."

Annabeth’s voice faltered, clearly not expecting the harshness of his words. "I… I understand," she said quietly, her face falling. "But be careful. Whatever is happening out there… it’s connected to us. To the camp. I’ll keep trying to reach you."

"We’ll handle it," Percy said, his tone cold. "You don’t need to worry about us."

The image of Annabeth flickered, the colors of the Iris message beginning to fade. She looked at him one last time, her eyes full of regret. "Take care, Percy."

And with that, the mist dissolved, leaving them in the silence of the beach.

Thalia let out a frustrated breath. "That was… unnecessary."

"She’s still trying to fix things," Jason muttered. "But she doesn’t get it. We’re not going back."

Nico’s hands were clenched at his sides, his expression dark. "She still thinks it’s all about camp. She has no idea what we’re dealing with now."

Percy was silent for a moment, staring at the space where the Iris message had been. He felt the old anger bubbling inside him, the weight of Annabeth’s betrayal still heavy on his heart.

"Let’s go," he finally said, turning away from the others. "We’ve got bigger problems to deal with."

Will, standing close to him, nodded in agreement. "She doesn’t need to know where we are. We can’t trust anyone from camp."

"No," Percy agreed. "Not anymore."

With that, they gathered their things and continued toward the coast, the call from Annabeth leaving a bitter taste in the air. Whatever was coming, it wasn’t just a problem for Camp Half-Blood—it was something much bigger, and they were going to have to face it on their own.